On May 8, the world’s first 24,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship, built by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China COSCO Shipping Corporation, for Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Holdings, was officially named “OOCL Intelligence” in Nantong, Jiangsu. This vessel is currently the world’s largest methanol dual-fuel container ship.
At the naming ceremony, Ms. Cao Yanping, Director of Fujian Yaohua Industrial Village Development Co., Ltd., served as the godmother and performed the bottle-smashing naming ceremony for the “OOCL Intelligence.”
The “OOCL Intelligence” has an overall length of 399.99 meters, a molded breadth of 61.3 meters, a molded depth of 33.2 meters, a maximum container capacity of 24,168 TEUs, a deadweight tonnage of 225,000 tons, and a service speed of 22.7 knots. Its dimensions and performance indicators set benchmarks for similar vessel types globally. Its core breakthrough lies in the world’s largest methanol dual-fuel power system, equipped with the world’s largest methanol dual-fuel main engine, auxiliary engine, and boiler, allowing flexible switching between methanol and traditional fuel modes. When using green methanol, a single vessel can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 150,000 tons annually, nearly eliminate sulfur oxide emissions, and significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, perfectly meeting the urgent global demand for shipping decarbonization and emission reduction.
In the field of intelligence, the “OOCL Intelligence” fully meets the highest-level requirements of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for smart ships and cybersecurity. It is equipped with an advanced intelligent data platform and energy efficiency management system, enabling real-time ship-shore information exchange, automatic optimization of speed and trim, and real-time prediction of hull structural fatigue damage. Intelligent applications such as wireless collection of reefer container information and lifecycle structural safety management build an integrated “perception-analysis-decision” smart navigation system, showcasing the company’s strong capabilities in the deep integration of digital technology and lean manufacturing.
Safety is the bottom line for green and intelligent ships. Addressing the characteristics of methanol fuel, the Nantong COSCO KHI project team overcame key technologies such as fuel tank structural safety and gas diffusion analysis, establishing a comprehensive safety defense system for the entire process. The fixed CO2 fire extinguishing system in the cargo holds and the deck high-pressure water cannon system form a three-dimensional fire protection network, combined with innovative technologies such as methanol fuel system risk assessment and pressure boosting tests, ensuring the vessel’s safety during ocean voyages in all aspects.
As the first intelligent manufacturing demonstration enterprise in China’s shipbuilding industry and a national-level green factory, Nantong COSCO KHI has achieved leapfrog development in container ship construction from 5,400 TEUs to 24,000 TEUs since its commissioning, continuously filling gaps in domestic high-end ship technology. The completion of the “OOCL Intelligence” not only breaks foreign technological monopolies in the high-end green ship market but also consolidates China’s leading advantage in the fields of ultra-large container ships and clean energy vessels, providing a “Chinese solution” for global shipping decarbonization.
In recent years, COSCO Shipping Holdings has accelerated the construction of its green, digital, and intelligent fleet. It has currently ordered 70 dual-fuel container ships, with 7 already in operation, forming a green and low-carbon capacity matrix incorporating diversified new energy fuel pathways including methanol and LNG. The delivery of the “OOCL Intelligence” marks a new breakthrough for COSCO Shipping Holdings in building a “cargo”-centric digital supply chain platform and a “ship”-centric full lifecycle digital intelligent operation platform, comprehensively creating new quality productive forces in shipping. It demonstrates COSCO Shipping Holdings’ confidence and determination to continuously promote the large-scale and green upgrade of its dual-brand fleet, actively practice a customer-centric philosophy, and fully realize the goal of “Carrying the World.” In the future, COSCO Shipping Holdings will unremittingly fulfill its firm commitments to green, low-carbon, digital, intelligent, and sustainable development, achieve fleet scale growth and iterative upgrades in vessel performance, build a more energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, efficient, intelligent, and wider-coverage shipping network, and support the prosperous development of global trade with safer, more reliable, and sustainable logistics solutions.
Currently, the “OOCL Intelligence” is about to commence sea trials. In the future, this vessel will serve as a mobile lighthouse driving the zero-carbon transformation of the shipping industry, writing a new chapter in the development of China’s shipbuilding industry towards higher, newer, and greener standards.
