SIMIC

The vessel arrived at the Shanghai yard on August 31 for the retrofit works including the installation of a 6,500-cbm GTT LNG fuel tank, reports Abuja's Naija247news.

The project has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as Hapag-Lloyd previously planned to start the works in May.

This pilot project will help Hapag-Lloyd to decide on future LNG conversions, but also paves the way for other box ship owners looking to slash emissions and comply with more stringent IMO rules.

Besides new tanks, the ship's fuel system and its existing heavy fuel oil-burning MAN engine will switch to dual-fuel power. This includes LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil as a backup.

Hapag-Lloyd inherited the LNG-ready Sajir after its takeover of UASC back in 2017. Its 16 sister ships are also LNG-ready and fit for retrofitting.

The world's largest LNG-powered vessel will serve the Europe-Asia route. It will bunker LNG from the MOL-owned and Total-chartered Gas Agility that recently arrived off Rotterdam.

Besides this vessel, CMA CGM has additional eighth sister ships on order at Hudong-Zhonghua and its unit Jiangnan.

Furthermore, the French shipping group is also involved in the second LNG containership delivery slated for this month, but this time as a charterer.

Eastern Pacific Shipping's 15,000 TEU Tenere has completed gas trials in South Korea and is ready to start work.