French shipowner EuroGreen Maritime has bagged long-term charters from Equinor to back four pioneering methanol-fuelled product tanker newbuildings worth more than $250m in total.
EuroGreen said today that it has signed seven-year charters with five one-year extension periods with the Norwegian energy company after winning a tender on both technical and financial criteria.
The IMO II MR tankers will be built at Wuhu Shipyard Co’s new Weihai facility in China.
The vessels, which have been developed in collaboration with LMG Marin France, are scheduled for delivery dates from the first half of 2026 and continuing through 2027.
The French-flagged ships will be fitted with dual-fuel methanol engines, shaft generators and a battery-hybrid power generation system to improve power management, and will be able to use shore power connections to cut emissions during port operations.
They will also be kitted out with a pair of OceanWings wind sails developed by French company Ayro.
EuroGreen said the ships’ greenhouse gas, SOx and NOx emissions will be reduced by more than 45%, 95% and 50%, respectively, with no particles, compared with conventional MR designs. It said this exceeds the International Maritime Organization’s 2030 targets.
The vessels will be managed by V.Ships France under the time charter agreement with Equinor.
JP Morgan, which has a series of methanol-fuelled product tankers on order in China, had originally been tipped to win this business, as its newbuildings had been contracted earlier at around a $5m discount to current prices.
EuroGreen had been linked to prior efforts at securing methanol-fuelled product tanker newbuildings in 2022.
But a berth reservation for eight vessels at China’s New Times Shipbuilding was axed.
Speaking about its new Equinor charters and these latest newbuildings, EuroGreen said: “This transaction represents a significant advancement in green shipping and underscores a shared vision for a cleaner, more sustainable maritime industry.”
Equinor, which floated a tender for the product tankers in December 2023, plans to deploy them to serve refineries, processing plants and terminal facilities.
EuroGreen said: “This initiative represents a significant step in reducing maritime operations’ environmental footprint”, adding that it aligned with both companies’ sustainability goals.
