MAN ES methanol engines will power Wallenius Wilhelmsen's newbuilds

Scandinavian RoRO shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen has selected MAN Energy Solutions (MAN ES) dual-fuel methanol engines to power its four upcoming dual-fuel methanol pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs).

PHOTO: Concept design of Wallenius Willhelmsen's upcoming methanol-powered and ammonia-ready newbuilds. Wallenius Willhelmsen

These four 9,350-car equivalent units (CEU) vessels will be delivered by China's Jinling Shipyard from 2026. Wallenius Wilhelmsen also has the option to order eight more of these vessels in the future.

Methanol is “the fastest way to net-zero emissions”, said Xavier Leroi, chief operating officer of shipping services at Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

“Methanol is gaining momentum within the PCTC segment off the back of strong Chinese car-manufacturing figures and the introduction of new emission regulations,” Bjarne Foldager, head of two-stroke business at MAN ES said.

“We fully expect methanol to figure prominently as a future fuel across vehicle carriers and, indeed eventually, all vessel segments,” he added.

True to Foldager's assessment, methanol's popularity as an alternative fuel is gaining traction. There are 230 methanol-fuelled vessels now in operation or on order according to classification society DNV's latest tally. The vast majority of these are on order, as the global methanol-fuelled vessel orderbook only started to swell in the past two years.

In addition to methanol, ammonia is also being considered as an alternative fuel to reduce shipping emissions and DNV's October data now shows three confirmed orders for ammonia-fuelled vessels. Wallenius Wilhelmsen confirmed in August that its upcoming PCTCs will also be ammonia-ready and can be converted to run on ammonia once it is widely available as a bunker fuel.

By Konica Bhatt

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online