Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has finally signed on the dotted line for six 23,500+ teu ultra large container vessels at South Korea’s DSME.
The vessels will be equipped with dual fuel LNG engines, and are scheduled for delivery between April and December 2023.
Hapag-Lloyd says the vessels will be deployed on the Europe – Far East routes as part of THE Alliance.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, commented: “With the investment in six ultra large container vessels we will not only be able to reduce slot costs and improve our competitiveness on the Europe – Far East trade, but also take a significant step forward in modernizing our fleet. Additionally we will further reduce our environmental impact.”
The six vessels will see an investment of around $1bn, with financing already secured.
Hapag-Lloyd had been working to place an order for the vessels early in the year, but put plans on ice back in April when demand for container transport had plummeted thanks to Covid-19.
Let’s translate:
“Dual fuel LNG engines” = HFO engines which, when in seas and rivers subject to more stringent emissions control, will try to burn a far worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, which, even in the best case for “methane slip”, will actually accelerate anthropogenic warming more than simply burning HFO would
And the Award for Least Intelligent Thinking in Shipping and the Award for Most Egregious Greenwashing for the month of December both go to the Board of Hapag-Lloyd.