Oveseas Orient Container Line’s first methanol dual-fuel boxship, the OOCL Wisdom, has completed its first its first green methanol bunkering and has begun its maiden voyage at Qingdao Port, China.
OOCL Wisdom is the first in a series of seven methanol dual-fuel container vessels. With a maximum capacity of 24,168 TEU, it is currently the world’s largest methanol dual‑fuel container vessel and is deployed on the Asia – North Europe Loop 1 (LL1) service.
Mr. Peter Pan, Director of Trades of OOCL, said: OOCL Wisdom completed its first green methanol bunkering and commenced its maiden voyage to Europe at Qingdao Port, representing a significant achievement of the deepening collaboration between OOCL and Shandong Port Group, and reflecting OOCL’s steadfast commitment to green and low‑carbon development, digital intelligence and sustainability. Looking ahead, OOCL will continue to remain customer‑focused, advance fleet upgrading and low‑carbon transition, and enhance service capabilities, providing safer, more reliable and sustainable logistics solutions to support the continued growth of global trade.”
About methanol
Methanol, also known as wood alcohol from the previous way in which it was manufactured from wood, is a colourless and volatile liquid with a sweet pungent odour. It has three hydrogen atoms linked to one carbon atom (the methyl group) linked to an oxygen-hydrogen pair. Combustion of two molecules of methanol will produce two molecules of carbon dioxide and four molecules of water.
Methanol is considered to be a green fuel because it can be manufactured in an environmentally-friendly way. Oxygen and hydrogen can be obtained from the splitting of water through electrolysis (which is green if the process is powered by a renewable energy source such as wind or solar). Carbon can be obtained from waste biomatter such as restaurant waste, forestry residue, agricultural waste, manure, wastewater solids and more. Biomass is fed into an anerobic (without oxygen) digester and appropriate bacteria are added. The bacteria emit biogas, typically methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, water vapor, and more, as they consume the biomatter. Oxygen, hydrogen and carbon can then be combined in the appropriate ratios with green power.
When the resulting fuel is combusted in a ship’s engine it does not add extra carbon to the atmosphere, instead, it merely returns carbon to the atmosphere that had been extracted by plants as they grew.
Other OOCL News
In other OOCL news, the company has received three awards from the Hong Kong Marine Department and the Hong Kong Shipowners Association. these were:
- Award for the Shipowner Placing the Most Gross Tonnage (GT) on the Hong Kong Shipping Register (HKSR) in 2025
- Award for Outstanding Performance in Port State Control (PSC) for the Year 2025
- Award for Company Recruiting the Most Hong Kong Sea-going Cadets in 2025
