Hapag-Lloyd will retrofit hybrid-ready exhaust gas cleaning systems to 10 of its 13,000 TEU Hamburg class vessels starting next year.

According to the shipping line, the retrofits will begin in March 2019 with the Hamburg Express at the Qingdao Beihai shipyard in China. All 10 installations are estimated to be completed before the end of 2020.

The decision was made as part of Hapag-Lloyd’s response to the International Maritime Organization’s upcoming regulation which limits the sulphur content in fuel oil to 0.5% mass from January 1, 2020.

“Using compliant low-sulphur fuels is the key solution for Hapag-Lloyd,” said Anthony Firmin, COO of Hapag-Lloyd. “However, we want to make sure we test and make use of all relevant solutions, which is why we decided to also retrofit our Hamburg class vessels with EGCS.”

The shipping line also has 17 new vessels in its fleet that can be converted to use liquefied natural gas. One 15,000 TEU vessel will be retrofitted during 2019 to test whether LNG is a suitable alternative to low-sulphur fuel, according to Hapag-Lloyd.