OOCL confirms massive $3.08B deal for 14 methanol-fueled boxships

Hong Kong-based container shipping company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Holdings, has ordered a total of fourteen methanol-fueled containerships at two shipyards in China in a groundbreaking move to future-proof and greenify its fleet.

The company unveiled the massive $3.08 billion deal on April 29, 2025.

As informed, the fourteen 18,500 TEU methanol dual fuel container vessels will be built at Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (DACKS) and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS).

Shipbuilding contracts for five units have been signed with Nantong and for the remaining nine with Dalian—an indirect subsidiary and an associate of COSCO Shipping, respectively. Under each of the shipbuilding contracts, OOCL will pay $220 million.

The vessels are expected to be delivered between the third quarter of 2028 and the third quarter of 2029, the company said in a statement.

The order is said to align with the company’s long-term strategy to steadily increase fleet capacity, replace end-of-life vessels, achieve balanced growth in the long run and further consolidate its position in the industry. To note, COSCO Group, OOCL’s parent company, is the world’s fourth-largest container shipping company according to Alphaliner TOP 100 list.

Equipped with green fuel technologies, the new boxships also demonstrate OOCL’s commitment to decarbonization, supporting the global maritime industry’s ambitious environmental targets.

DACKS and NACKS were previously selected by OOCL to build 29 containerships, including seven 24,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel units in 2022.