Ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd is planning to invest in 22 new container ships, as part of the company's efforts to cut emissions and modernize its fleet.

According to a November 12 release, the carrier's fleet in the Panamax class (less than 5,000 twenty-foot equivalent units), will be boosted by a mix of newly built long-term charter vessels and owned vessels. Once operational, the ships will replace older, less fuel-efficient vessels in Hapag-Lloyd's fleet, with the move representing an "important milestone" on the carrier's path to net-zero fleet operations by 2045, as well as its large-scale fleet renewal program.

By 2030, the carrier intends to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by approximately one-third compared with 2022 levels. The company signed a long-term fuel purchase agreement for green methanol in 2024, which Hapag-Lloyd estimates could save up to 400,000 metric tons of carbon emissions across its fleet operations annually. Hapag-Lloyd also signed two contracts with Chinese shipyards in November 2024, to build 24 new container ships equipped with low emission LNG dual-fuel engines.