Unifeeder Group has signed a long-term time-charter agreement for two new methanol-capable container feeder vessels and has an option for additional two similar vessels.
German-based ship owning group Elbdeich Reederei will build and manage the 1250 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels which will be delivered in 2026.
Unifeeder Group plans to deploy the new vessels on its European network, where the new vessels will give a significant contribution to lower the emissions of the network.
Alongside parent company, DP World, Unifeeder is working with partners across the industry to find solutions to the challenge of renewable-methanol supply, which needs off-take commitments to build production at the scale that the industry needs to replace conventional fossil fuels.
In parallel to the delivery of the methanol capable vessels, Unifeeder will continue to improve the fuel efficiency of the entire fleet deployed and increase the use of biofuels on the conventional vessels in the fleet.
Jesper Kristensen, group CEO of Unifeeder Group says: ‘We strive to offer our customers solutions that support their own sustainability journeys and whilst these new vessels are part of the answer, efficient routing, securing high levels of vessel utilisation and dedicated capacity management across all of our offerings have major roles to play as well.’
Robert Frese, managing director at Elbdeich Reederei says: ‘We believe in methanol-capable vessels as part of a suite of solutions being deployed to reduce carbon emissions in our sector and are happy to contribute with this project to a greener future in shipping.’
Source: Molly Cooper, AntwerpXL
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