Japanese containerline Ocean Network Express (ONE) has finally come clean on its next fleet expansion, confirming orders in China that have been carried by multiple broking reports in recent months.
The Jeremy Nixon-led containerline is joining the methanol revolution sweeping the sector, signing for twelve 13,000 teu methanol dual-fuelled vessels. The orders are split evenly between Jiangnan Shipyard and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and will deliver from 2027.
ONE is the world’s sixth largest containerline. Headquartered in Singapore, it was established in 2017 by merging the liner units of Japan’s top three shipping lines, Mitsui OSK Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha.
Most of the global liners now have methanol-fuelled ships on their orderbooks with more than one in two of all new boxship capacity ordered last year going for this increasingly popular alternative fuel.
It is not just liner shipping that has adopted the fuel en masse. Shipping’s rapid transition to alternative fuels took a significant twist last year with methanol-powered engine orders becoming the most popular alternative choice.
The latest stats from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight platform have shown that orders for methanol-powered ships saw a sharp increase in orders in 2023 with 138 which puts it at the top spot, beating LNG for the first time. The chilled fuel took second place with 130 orders.
Last year was a banner year for shipping adopting methanol, with the orderbook for dual-fuelled methanol-powered ships now standing above 200 ships, according to data from Clarksons’ latest Green Technology Tracker.
I still don’t see any sign of the predicted merger with Hapag Lloyd, as predicted by Lars Jensen in March last year.