Most Emission-Efficient Refrigerated Cargos
Ships ranked by AER (Annual Efficiency Ratio) — grams of CO₂ emitted per tonne of deadweight carried one nautical mile (g CO₂/dwt·nm), the IMO carbon-intensity metric behind the CII rating — from official EU MRV emissions data for reporting year 2025. Lower is greener. Pick a segment and size class to see the greenest vessels first.
| # | Vessel | Size (DWT) | Built | Carbon intensity — AER (g CO₂/dwt·nm) | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 |
SALERNO
IMO 9189873
|
10,447 | 1998 |
27.9
|
E |
| 102 |
SIERRA LAUREL
IMO 9163403
|
5,937 | 1998 |
27.9
|
E |
| 103 |
COOL MAGNUS
IMO 9167801
|
12,906 | 2000 |
30.2
|
E |
| 104 |
SIERRA LARA
IMO 9120205
|
5,970 | 1996 |
30.3
|
E |
| 105 |
SAVANNA BREEZE
IMO 9791274
|
5,903 | 2019 |
31.2
|
E |
| 106 |
SAVANNA WIND
IMO 9791286
|
5,102 | 2020 |
38.2
|
E |
Which engines power the greenest fleets?
The main engine is the single largest CO₂ source on board — typically well over 80% of a ship's emissions come from propulsion. We aggregated this ranking the other way around: every engine design is scored by the measured carbon intensity of the vessels carrying it, licensee-built units merged under their design brand. The verdict from the 2025 data — modern dual-fuel designs like MAN B&W's ME-GI and WinGD's X-DF families, together with EGR/SCR-abated and ultra-long-stroke G-type engines, consistently power the most emission-friendly ships in service.
AER (Annual Efficiency Ratio) = annual CO₂ emissions ÷ (deadweight × distance sailed), the IMO carbon-intensity metric used for CII ratings. It is built only from measured CO₂, distance and deadweight — not the self-reported cargo transport-work figure, which is unreliable. Implausible outliers (top 2% per segment) are excluded. Grade A–E reflects each vessel's rank within its segment. Source: EMSA THETIS-MRV.