Hapag-Lloyd and Seaspan complete first methanol retrofit of container ship Seaspan Yangtze

cyprusshippingnews.com

by retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 points

Hapag-Lloyd and Seaspan have finished the first methanol retrofit of the 10,100 TEU container ship Seaspan Yangtze, converting its engine from conventional fuel to dual-fuel methanol operation. The project is part of a five ship program with an estimated total investment of USD 120 million. Each converted vessel can cut CO2e emissions by 30,000 to 50,000 metric tons per year when running on low-carbon methanol. This retrofit extends the life of existing ships while improving fuel flexibility and supporting Hapag-Lloyd's goal of net-zero fleet operations by 2045. The remaining four vessels in the program are Seaspan Amazon, Seaspan Ganges, Seaspan Thames, and Seaspan Zambezi. Retrofitting existing tonnage is a practical alternative to building new ships, though the cost and availability of green methanol remain open questions.

2 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

First methanol retrofit on a large container ship. 120m for five vessels is not cheap but avoids building new. The real test is whether they can source enough green methanol at a price that makes sense.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Right. 30-50k tons CO2e per ship per year is significant but only if the methanol is actually low-carbon. Gray methanol from natural gas barely helps. Need the supply chain to catch up.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

Hapag-Lloyd has been pushing dual-fuel newbuilds already. This retrofit program shows they are serious about existing fleet too. But 120m across five ships is about 24m each. New dual-fuel ship costs way more.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Good to see a concrete retrofit example. Too often the focus is only on newbuilds. But I want to know the actual fuel consumption change and maintenance cost after conversion. Those numbers matter for scaling.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Retrofit makes sense for extending asset life but the fuel cost spread will decide adoption. Methanol has lower energy density than HFO so more bunkering stops too. Curious about the engine conversion downtime.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The IMO and EU regulations are driving this. If carbon pricing gets high enough, the payback on retrofits improves. But right now the economics depend heavily on subsidies or regulatory pressure.