Yang Ming invites bids for 5 LNG-powered boxships

Taiwanese shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation has opened an international tender for the procurement of five LNG dual-fuel 15,000 TEU-class container carriers.

The tender was launched on August 16th and is open for bids until September 6th, 2022. It mandates for the newbuilding ships to be customized and made on a turn-key basis.

The tender requires the Neo-Panamax container vessels to have a nominal container loading capacity of 15,000-16,000 TEU. The newbuilds need to be compliant with Tier III NOx regulations and meet the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 requirements. Phase 3 calls for all vessels to achieve at least a 30% reduction, with some ship types targeting 50%.

The dual-fuel ships will run on LNG, very low sulpfur fuel oil (VLSFO) and marine gas oil (MGO), according to the tender specifications. Yang Ming wants the vessels to have an endurance of about 23,500 nautical miles in gas mode and approximately 12,400 nautical miles in fuel mode.

Vessel particulars:

• Length overall abt. 366 M
• Breadth, moulded <=51.2M
• Depth, moulded abt. 29~32 M
• Design draught, moulded abt. 14.50 M
• Air draught <= 65.00 M
• Ship speed 22.0 knots at the design draught

When it comes to delivery dates, the first ship is expected in the first half of 2025 while the final one should be completed and delivered by the end of the first half of 2026.

The Taiwanese shipping major revealed its plans to build LNG-fuelled 15,000 TEU vessels back in April, saying it would be the first shipping company in Taiwan to own such ships.

Yang Ming follows in the footsteps of several market players such as CMA CGM which has been investing heavily in LNG as fuel for its containerships since 2017, MSC, as well as Seaspan, which currently has a total a total of 29 LNG dual-fuelled vessels on order.

Choosing LNG as fuel for new vessels is part of Yang Ming’s fleet rejuvenation strategy and a switch to low-carbon emissions, especially in the context of ever stricter environmental regulations on a global level.

“In the spirit of environmental sustainability, Yang Ming is using LNG for the new fleet on account of its relatively mature low-carbon technology. By so doing, the company expects to reduce GHG emissions by at least 20%, as compared to using traditional fuel,” Yang Ming said in April.

LNG as marine fuel: not a silver bullet, but it’s a start

LNG has seen a major upswing in the shipping industry over the recent period being the likely fuel choice for newbuilds. The trend has been assigned to vast expertise and decades of knowledge in shipping and handling LNG, which is not the case when other alternative fuel options are considered. What is more, when compared to its zero-emission alternatives, it has the advantage of being widely available.

At the moment a total of 147 ports around the globe can bunker LNG and this figure is likely to reach 200 by 2024 as demand continues to grow, estimates from Clarksons Research show.

The expansion of the global bunkering capacity comes as LNG capable newbuilds reach 37% of all vessel type newbuilding capacity currently under construction.

On the other hand, LNG has been identified as the likely bridging marine fuel, which for some owners, like Maersk, is not an option due to its well-to-wake CO2 footprint.

Being transitional or not, those who do opt for LNG agree that it is not a perfect solution, but waiting for one is not the answer either as there is no time to waste when it comes to cutting emissions.

In conclusion, there seem to be promising developments in perfecting the solution with low-carbon or zero-carbon e-methane, bio-methane, and synthetic methane which are compatible with LNG-fuelled engines requiring minor or no modifications.