OOCL Names Second Methanol Dual-Fuel Boxship
Key Takeaways
- •OOCL named its second methanol dual-fuel container ship, the 24,000 TEU OOCL Grace, at Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co.
- •OOCL Grace is the second of seven 24,000-TEU methanol dual-fuel vessels being built for OOCL by the shipbuilder.
- •The vessel can run on both methanol and conventional marine fuels, providing flexibility where green methanol is unavailable.
- •The first ship in the series, OOCL Wisdom, was named in May and completed green methanol bunkering in China in July before its maiden voyage to Europe.
- •Ports will need to rapidly expand green methanol availability to meet rising demand as methanol-powered boxship deliveries increase.
Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has held the naming ceremony of its second methanol dual-fuel container ship.
The 24,000 TEU vessel, OOCL Grace, was named on Friday at Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., the company said in a press release.
OOCL Grace is the second of seven 24,000-TEU methanol dual-fuel ships being built by the shipbuilder for OOCL. The first in the series, OOCL Wisdom, was named in May and completed its first green methanol bunkering in China in July before departing on its maiden voyage to Europe.
The vessel is capable of running on both methanol and conventional marine fuels. Methanol has emerged as one of the leading alternative marine fuels as shipping lines seek to cut greenhouse gas emissions, with methanol dual-fuel technology allowing operators to switch to conventional fuel where green methanol supply is not yet available.
The container segment has led orders for methanol-fuelled newbuilds, a trend driven in part by major carriers' fleet renewal programmes aligned with decarbonisation targets. With a growing number of methanol-powered boxships on order, ports will need to scale up the availability of green methanol quickly to meet the resulting surge in demand. Early bunkering operations such as OOCL Wisdom's in China mark the first steps in building out that supply chain, with further deliveries in OOCL's seven-ship series expected to add to demand for green methanol at ports along their routes.
