Evergreen bets on sustainability with order for 24 methanol ships

The weekly report by shipbroker Maersk Broker has revealed that Taiwanese container shipping company Evergreen has plans to commission 24 16,000 teu ships that can run on methanol (dual-fuel). To get these ships built, Evergreen has issued a tender for which shipyards can bid in the coming weeks. The ships are expected to cost around $180 million each, meaning the entire order is worth around $4.3 billion. When the deal is complete, Evergreen also plans to place another large order for a series of 3,000 teu container ships, according to the shipbroker.

Although container liner shipping has seen volumes drop in recent months and container rates fall from the heyday of the corona era, major container shipping companies are still investing the money they made during that period in new vessels. The fact that shipyards are currently busy with new orders means that the Evergreen order will probably have to be split between several yards. Three South Korean yards are considered the leading candidates for building these vessels. Several container shipping companies have also recently announced plans to commission ships capable of running on methanol. For instance, Cosco is having 12 of these ships built, while Maersk has ordered 18 units of 16,000 to 17,000 teu. Maersk’s first methanol ship, a 2,100 teu capacity feeder vessel that will operate between northern Europe and the Baltic Sea from this summer, was recently launched at a South Korean shipyard.