Singapore's X-Press Feeders Group has ordered 16 methanol-powered container ships.

It announced that contracts have been signed for the 1,170-teu "state of the art" vessels at two Chinese yards.

They will be outfitted with ultramodern dual-fuel engines that can operate on regular fuel or green methanol and are "specifically designed to be highly fuel-efficient", the company said.

No price has been revealed.

The ships will be delivered between the final quarter of 2023 and the end of 2024. Eight will come from New Dayang Shipbuilding and eight from Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding Group.

X-Press will use the ships on its Europe and Americas trade routes.

Cutting-edge ships

Chief executive Shmuel Yoskovitz said: "We are very excited to commission the building of these ships that will provide cutting-edge technology to deliver a balance of environmental sustainability and operational excellence.

"The X-Press Feeders Group is committed to maintaining an eco-friendly approach to expanding and modernising our global operated fleet."

The deal represents increasing momentum behind methanol-powered container ships, following AP Moller-Maersk's ground-breaking order for up to 12 units of 16,000 teu each at Hyundai Heavy Industries in the summer.

X-Press is listed with four feederships of its own, built in 2005 and 2008.

Parent Sea Consortium has a fleet of 47 operational vessels, plus 11 more on order in China. Eight 7,000-teu boxships are being built at Shanghai Waigaoqiao, while three 3,100-teu units are contracted at Zhoushan Changhong.

Deliveries are set for 2023 and 2024.

Earlier in November, TradeWinds reported broker reports that Mediterranean Shipping Co had continued its buying spree, acquiring two of X-Press Feeders' largest container ships, the 4,896-teu X-Press Jersey (built 2014) and 5,000-teu X-Press Guernsey (built 2015) at $105m each.