CSET orders methanol-fuelled tanker newbuilding series

Ammmonia	Methanol	BioFuel & Clean Diesel	Nuclear	LNG

Using an abundant, if toxic, resource to power the maritime fleet.	A mature future fuel already in use - but will it become dominant?	Numerous NGOs protested against the IMO earlier this year putting biofuels in its Global Fuel Standard, but the “fuel versus food” debate seems to have been solved by deriving fuels from waste.	Technically the cleanest possible fuel source available to the maritime world and one that has the longest history, dating back to the 1950s. Why is it not in common, non-military use?	LNG is currently the most popular lower carbon fuel, but with bio and e-LNG it could move beyond its current transition fuel status supported by extensive existing infrastructure.
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COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET) announced that it had placed an order for a series of six methanol-fuelled tanker vessels with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry on 29 December.

The order was announced in a stock market announcement recorded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The order encompasses three 114,200 dwt methanol-fuelled Aframax crude oil tankers, two 64,900 dwt Panamax tankers and a 49,900 dwt MR tanker vessel. The Aframax tankers will be constructed at COSCO Shipping’s Yangzhou shipyard, with the first vessel slated for delivery before the end of 2026. The two remaining vessels in the series will be constructed in tandem and will be delivered before the end of September and November 2027, respectively.

Yuan Rui Yang world's first dual fuel VLCC

Source: COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation

COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET) was among the first ship operators to operate a dual-fuel VLCC. The Yuan Rui Yang (pictured) was the first dual-fuel VLCC to be built in China.

The Panamax tankers and the MR crude oil tanker will be constructed at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry’s facility in Dalian. The tankers will be delivered before the end of October and December 2026, respectively. The MR tanker is expected to be delivered before the end of November 2026.

The Motorship notes that COSCO played an instrumental role in introducing LNG-fuelled propulsion into the VLCC segment of the tanker market, while COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET) has experience of operating dual-fuel tankers.