28 November 2024
Methanol Powered Newbuild Feeders – Ordered
X-Press feeders have ordered 16 methanol powered newbuilds from two Chinese Shipyards as part of its fleet replacement program.
At the moment, the container shipping industry is focusing on the economies of scale of ultra-large ships. On the other end of the spectrum, this makes room for the potential development of feeder vessels. Therefore, the latest orders for newbuilds are focusing on the smaller vessels which will run on methanol.
Order
X-Press Feeders, the world’s largest independent feeder carrier, has placed an order for a new class of environmentally friendly feeder vessels.
Particularly, the methanol powered vessel contract consist of 16 containerships, each with a capacity of 1,170 TEU. Note that the company split the order evenly between China’s New Dayang Shipbuilding Co. and Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding Group. In this regard, the first vessels will start serving Europe and America’s trade routes by the 4th quarter of 2023. Following the schedule, the two shipyards will deliver the last vessels by the end of 2024.
“We are very excited to commission the building of these ships, that will provide cutting edge technology to deliver a balance of environmental sustainability and operational excellence… The X-Press Feeders Group is committed to maintaining an eco-friendly approach to expanding and modernizing our global operated fleet.”
Shmuel Yoskovitz, CEO, X-Press Feeders
Methanol vibes
Above all, the 16 new feeder ships will have ultramodern, dual-fuel engines thus allowing them to operate on regular fuel or green methanol. Moreover, they will have a specifically highly fuel-efficient design.
As part of its fleet replacement program, the company plans the next generation of ships which will burn less than half the fuel of existing ships.
X-Press Feeders has been working with engine manufacturers to specify the most technologically advanced engines for the newbuilds. Hence, being capable of utilizing blue and green fuels including methanol and ammonia NH3.
Nonetheless, WinGD is leading the way with their methanol ammonia engines, while Svitzer develops the first tug in the world with methanol fuel cells.
Photo: X-Press Feeders
