The Unifeeder Group has signed a long-term time-charter agreement for two new methanol-capable container feeder vessels and has an option for an additional two similar vessels. German-based ship owners, 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 significantly 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.
Across the fleet
Jesper Kristensen, Group CEO of Unifeeder Group, says, “As the number of methanol-capable vessels increases in both our operations and those of our customers, my hope is that this drives an increase in innovation and production among methanol producers. This will then complete the circle and ensure we can operate more and more methanol capable vessels in our networks.”
This new project is the latest step in a series of efforts that have been undertaken between Unifeeder and Elbdeich Reederei to reduce emissions within the jointly-operated Unifeeder fleet. This includes the first test of Synthetic Natural Gas as a fuel on a commercial vessel, the continuous use of biofuels and various vessel modifications made to reduce the fuel consumption of existing tonnage.
