Photo credit: Pacific Basin
Hong Kong-based bulker shipowner and operator Pacific Basin has boosted its fleet with an order for four dual-fuel methanol low-emission ultramax newbuilding vessels from Japan.
The 64,000 dwt ships are dual-fuel low-emission vessels (LEVs) capable of running on both green methanol as well as fuel oil.
The handysize and supramax owner said that this move comes due to the two and a half year of collaboration with Japanese partners Nihon Shipyard Co. and Mitsui & Co.
Two of the vessels are contracted jointly with Nihon Shipyard Co. and Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for delivery in 2028 and 2029, and two are contracted with Mitsui & Co. for delivery in 2028 and 2029.
The vessels are all to be built by Nihon Shipyard Co. and are of a new design optimised for fuel economy with the newest and most efficient engines as well as extra upgrades, according to the shipowner.
The LEVs’ dual-fuel engines make them capable of running on both conventional fuel oil and biofuel as well as green methanol.
The shipowner explains that green methanol is currently the most appropriate low-carbon marine fuel for its first generation of LEVs, but it will continue to reassess the benefits of different fuels as green fuel technology, safety, availability and pricing develops.
Pacific Basin has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui & Co. on November 28 that will give the company access to volumes of green methanol.
The company is in dialogue with several green fuel suppliers and producers to develop its access to bio-methanol and emethanol, as well as biofuel (biodiesel).
“Ordering these vessels aligns with our longstanding initiative to develop commercially viable and efficient dual-fuel low-emission vessels, and represents a major milestone in our long-term plan to transition to net zero emissions by 2050,” said Martin Fruergaard, CEO of Pacific Basin.
