Container line Hapag-Lloyd has signed a contract with Chinese shipyard CIMC Raffles for the construction of eight new 4,500 TEU container ships, with deliveries scheduled for 2028 and 2029.
The investment, valued at more than USD 500 million, marks the company’s first newbuild project featuring dual-fuel methanol propulsion.
The ships will be equipped with dual-fuel methanol engines and are expected to be up to 30% more efficient than older vessels in the same size class, saving up to 350,000 metric tons of CO2e per year when operating on methanol.
The order builds on Hapag-Lloyd’s growing alternative-fuel strategy.
The company currently has 37 dual-fuel LNG vessels in operation or on order, capable of running on biomethane. It has also agreed to convert five 10,100 TEU ships to methanol propulsion from 2026 and secured annual supplies of 250,000 mt of green methanol from Goldwind.
“Continuously modernizing our fleet is firmly anchored in our Strategy 2030. The new ships will help replace older tonnage, further decarbonize the Hapag-Lloyd fleet, and reduce our dependence on the charter market. What’s more, operating these state-of-the-art ships will be much more cost-efficient,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.
