The shipping company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), which belongs to Cosco, has christened the “OOCL Wisdom”. The container ship has a capacity of almost 24,000 TEU and can run on methanol.
The “OOCL Wisdom” is the company’s first container ship to be equipped with a methanol dual-fuel propulsion system. A total of seven sister ships will soon be in service for the shipping company.
The naming ceremony took place on the premises of Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS for short) in China. The shipyard is operated as a joint venture between the Cosco shipping company and Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
With a capacity of 24,168 TEU, the “OOCL Wisdom” is currently the world’s largest container ship with a methanol dual-fuel propulsion system. According to OOCL, all main and auxiliary engines are equipped with the appropriate systems to be able to use methanol as well as conventional fuel. For the company, the delivery of the ship marks a “milestone in terms of technological innovation”, OOCL announced.
“The delivery of the ‘OOCL Wisdom’ not only expands OOCL’s fleet and sets a new benchmark for our ship technology, but also demonstrates our firm commitment to green and low-carbon development, digital intelligence and sustainability,” said Tao Weidong, CEO of the shipping company. “The ongoing delivery of large, modern and highly efficient vessels – as exemplified by the ‘OOCL Wisdom’ – will drive both the growth of our fleet and the continuous performance improvement of our ships. This will allow us to build a greener, more efficient and smarter shipping network with even greater reach. In turn, this will allow us to provide even safer, more reliable and sustainable logistics solutions to support global trade.”
In addition to methanol, OOCL is also focusing on other fuels when renewing its fleet. The company recently ordered twelve newbuildings of 13,600 TEU each from Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding, another Chinese shipyard. They will be equipped with dual-fuel propulsion systems, although LNG will be used instead of methanol.
