On August 28, Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. (OOCL) held the naming ceremony for OOCL Grace, the company’s second methanol dual-fuel container vessel.
The naming ceremony was held at the shipyard of Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd. (“NACKS”). Ms. Annetta Duan, Global Logistics Director of Hayco Group, named OOCL Grace and bestowed her blessings upon the vessel in the presence of many guests.
OOCL Grace is the second of seven 24,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container vessels built by NACKS for OOCL. From the successful naming of the series’ first vessel, OOCL Wisdom, in May this year, to OOCL Wisdom completing its first green methanol bunkering and commencing its maiden voyage to Europe in July, and now the official debut of OOCL Grace, this series of currently the world’s largest methanol dual-fuel vessels is being completed and deployed in succession, reflecting the steady progress OOCL continues to make in developing a modern and green fleet.
Under green methanol operating conditions, OOCL Grace can reduce approximately 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, virtually eliminate sulfur oxide emissions, and significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions—fully aligning with the International Maritime Organization’s new green shipping regulations and the global trend toward decarbonization in ocean logistics. This series of vessels represents a major strategic achievement in COSCO Shipping Group’s push for shipping decarbonization and will inject strong momentum into OOCL’s development of green, low-carbon global supply chain services.
At the naming ceremony, Mr. Peter Pan, Director of Trades and Member of the Executive Committee of OOCL, said: “In a complex and ever-changing market environment, OOCL remains firmly committed to advancing the expansion, greening and digitalization of our fleet. With the successive delivery of OOCL Grace and her sister vessels, we will continue to optimize our capacity deployment and network configuration, providing customers with higher-quality, more stable and sustainable logistics solutions, while playing an important role in connecting industries, markets and global trade.”
Following the naming ceremony for the “OOCL Grace,” the vessel will enter the final commissioning phase and is scheduled to begin sea trials in early September.