The Chinese state-owned shipping and shipbuilding group Cosco has officially launched the conversion of four large container ships to dual-fuel methanol propulsion.
A few weeks ago, Cosco and engine manufacturer MAN agreed on the conversion of engines. Today, an order was announced to a shipyard[ds_preview].
The project remains in the “Cosco family”, as the shipping company Cosco Shipping Container Lines awarded the order to its sister shipyard, Cosco Marine Heavy Industries.
Specifically, it involves the conversion of two 13,800 TEU and two 20,000 TEU ships to dual-fuel engines. According to previous information, the engines are intended for the “Camellia” and “Virgo” classes.
Cosco: “World’s first project”
As Cosco announced today, this is the world’s first dual-fuel conversion project for MAN main engines and Wärtsilä auxiliary engines at the same time. With the acceleration of the decarbonization process in the shipping industry, the conversion of existing ships to dual-fuel engines has become the focus of interest in the industry, the company explains: “The conversion of ships to dual-fuel has enormous market potential.” Other shipping companies also see it that way. Maersk, Seaspan and Hapag-Lloyd, for example, are following similar paths.
The Chinese consider green methanol to be “more advantageous than LNG and ammonia” in terms of retrofitting, operating costs and technological maturity. Once the retrofitting of the four ships has been completed, greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by around 360,000 tons per year.
According to the contract, the first ship will be retrofitted in mid-2025. There is also apparently an option to retrofit further freighters.
