Hapag-Lloyd has signed an agreement with China's CIMC Raffles to order 8 vessels of ,4500 TEU, scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029, with an investment of over $500 million.

New vessels will be equipped with advanced dual-fuel methanol engines, offering a maximum efficiency increase of 30% compared to older ships of the same type, and are expected reduce up to 350,000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year when operating on methanol.

This order marks Hapag-Lloyds first newbuilding project centered around methanol propulsion, further expanding its fleet of dual-fuel vessels.

Hapag-Lloyd has also advanced its conversion and supply plans: five vessels of 10,100 TEU are planned for conversion to dual-fuel methanol ships in 2026-27, an agreement signed with Goldwind at the end of 2024 will supply 250,000 tons of green methanol per year, with a reduction at least 70%.

Hapag-Lloyd has further expanded its sub-5,000 TEU vessel size class with 14 newbuilding on long-term charter, including 1,800 TEU (4 vessels), 3,500 TEU (6 vessels), and 4500 TEU (4 vessels), scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2029, bringing the total investment in vessels of this size class 22 units.

"The continuous renewal of our fleet is a core element of our strategy until 2030. The new vessels will help replace older ships further driving the decarbonization of the Hapag-Lloyd fleet and reducing our reliance on the charter market. In addition, it will be more cost-effective to these state-of-the-art vessels," said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd