MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has ordered two new dual-fuel methanol powered 1,300 TEU ships for delivery in the second half of 2024.
The vessels will be fitted with a dual-fuel engine setup to enable operation on methanol as well as conventional marine gas oil (MGO). The vessels are expected to be carbon neutral.
The vessels will be built at the Chinese-based shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering and come with 15-year time charters to North Sea Container Line (NCL), backed by CoAs from various parties, including a 15-year CoA with Norwegian industrial group Elkem.
The project has been awarded NOK 13.7 million by Enova, Electrification of Maritime Transport program, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, and NOK 60 million from the NOx fund, the Norwegian business sector’s fund to reduce emissions.
The vessel owning entities will be majority-owned by MPCC (90.1 per cent) together with Topeka MPC Maritime (9.9 per cent), a joint venture between Topeka Holding (zero emission shipping company owned by Wilhelmsen Group) and MPC Capital.
CEO Constantin Baack said: “I am excited to announce the order of two carbon-neutral newbuildings with long-term time charters. Together with our partners NCL and Elkem, this project allows us to set up a green transportation corridor in Northern Europe, proving our ability to identify and execute on opportunities that are accretive whilst allowing us to make the right move towards further decarbonisation of the fleet. It also demonstrates that we can meet ambitious environmental goals by joining forces with like-minded partners and we are looking forward to facilitating a green container shipping supply chain along the Norwegian coastline.
“We believe that regional container trades with their specific features such as predictable trading profiles and manageable investments in fuel infrastructure will likely become the first truly green shipping trades.”
