Wärtsilä Secures China’s Largest-Ever Methanol Newbuild Order

Wärtsilä will supply the methanol-fueled auxiliary engines for five new container vessels for COSCO Shipping Lines and seven new container vessels for Orient Overseas Container Line.

Each vessel will operate with three 8-cylinder and two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 32M engines. This is the Chinese maritime sector’s largest order to date for methanol-fueled newbuild vessels. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in December 2023.

To complement the solution, the ships will be equipped with the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust cleaning systems and alternators. These will be supplied through Wärtsilä’s joint venture company, CWEC (Shanghai) Company.

The Wärtsilä 32M methanol-fueled engine has received type approval certificates from several classification societies around the world.

The Orient Overseas Container Line’s 24,000 TEU ships are to be built at the Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering yard, and the COSCO Shipping Lines’ 24,000 TEU ships at the Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering yard. The vessels are expected to commence commercial operations in 2026.