Most Emission-Efficient Container Ships

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 2024. Lower is greener. Pick a segment and size class to see the greenest vessels first.

Segment rank (2024)

#1,038 of 2,098 container ships

CO₂ intensity

8.4 g CO₂/dwt·nm

vs segment average (10.39)

-19% greener

Bulk Carrier Container Ship Oil Tanker Chemical Tanker Gas Carrier LNG Carrier General Cargo Vehicle Carrier Refrigerated Cargo Ro-Ro Cargo

Sort 🌱 Greenest first 🔧 Least efficient first — retrofit candidates

Size (TEU)

All sizes < 3,000 TEU 3k – 8k TEU 8k – 14k TEU > 14,000 TEU

Year

2025 2024

2,141

vessels ranked

2.25

greenest (g CO₂/t·nm)

8.58

segment median

#	Vessel	Size (TEU)	Built	Length	Main Engine	Carbon intensity — AER (g CO₂/dwt·nm)	Grade
1001	MSC LEIGH IMO 9320439	4,860 TEU	2006	275 m	MAN - 7K98MC-C	8.2	C
1002	MSC ALICANTE IMO 9480174	5,550 TEU	2011	270 m	MAN - 7K98MC-C	8.2	C
1003	VUOKSI MAERSK IMO 9775775	3,600 TEU	2018	200 m	MAN - 6S70ME-C8	8.2	C
1004	SANTA RITA IMO 9425382	7,114 TEU	2011	300 m	Doosan - 8RT FLEX 96C	8.2	C
1005	SANTA CLARA IMO 9444716	7,090 TEU	2010	300 m	Wärtsilä - 8RT-flex96C	8.2	C
1006	LE HAVRE IMO 9307243	9,572 TEU	2006	337 m	MAN - 12K98MC-C	8.2	C
1007	CMA CGM FIDELIO IMO 9299642	9,809 TEU	2006	349 m	Hyundai - 12 K98MC	8.2	C
1008	MAERSK HARTFORD IMO 9333008	6,200 TEU	2007	299 m	Doosan - 10RT-flex96C	8.2	C
1009	MSC INGRID IMO 9181651	4,500 TEU	1999	294 m	9K90MC	8.2	C
1010	MSC HIMANSHI IMO 9127540	2,006 TEU	1997	188 m	Sulzer - 6RTA72U	8.2	C
1011	VICENTE PINZON IMO 9625396	4,800 TEU	2014	255 m	MAN - 8S70ME-C8	8.3	C
1012	SPIRIT OF HONG KONG IMO 9456953	4,300 TEU	2010	262 m	Wärtsilä - 7RT-flex82C	8.3	C
1013	W KITHIRA IMO 9215323	6,802 TEU	2001	300 m	HHI - 12RTA96C	8.3	C
1014	DELPHINUS C IMO 9337652	4,888 TEU	2007	294 m	MAN - 9K98ME-C	8.3	C
1015	XIN XIA MEN IMO 9270476	5,668 TEU	2004	280 m	Mitsui - 12K90MC-C	8.3	C
1016	NYK DAEDALUS IMO 9337614	4,888 TEU	2007	294 m	MAN - 9K98MC-C	8.3	C
1017	CMA CGM VOLTAIRE IMO 9635652	6,900 TEU	2013	270 m	HHI - 8RT-FLEX82T	8.3	C
1018	MSC FREEPORT IMO 9301330	5,060 TEU	2006	294 m	Hyundai - 9 K 90 MC-C	8.3	C
1019	MSC DYMPHNA IMO 9110391	5,711 TEU	1996	275 m	MAN - 12K90MC-C	8.3	C
1020	CMA CGM SYDNEY IMO 9315953	4,300 TEU	2007	264 m	MAN - 8K90MC-C	8.3	C
1021	NYK ROMULUS IMO 9416989	4,888 TEU	2010	294 m	MAN - 9K98ME-C	8.3	C
1022	JOLLY ARGENTO IMO 9467043	4,600 TEU	2010	264 m	MAN - 8K90MC-C	8.3	C
1023	MSC YUXIN IMO 9966946	1,800 TEU	2024	172 m	MAN - 6S60ME-C10	8.3	C
1024	PANDA 009 IMO 9294812	5,527 TEU	2006	276 m	Sulzer - 10RT-flex96C	8.4	C
1025	MAERSK SYDNEY IMO 9289958	7,500 TEU	2005	335 m	Diesel United - 12 RT-FLEX 96C	8.4	C
1026	MSC NEDERLAND III IMO 8918954	2,668 TEU	1992	237 m	BREMER VULKAN AG SCHIFFBAU UND MASCHINENFABRIK 7 L 80 MC	8.4	C
1027	NICARAGUA EXPRESS IMO 9635676	6,900 TEU	2013	270 m	Hyundai - 8S80ME-C9.2	8.4	C
1028	IRENES RESPECT IMO 9964144	2,824 TEU	2024	186 m	HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd - South Korea 6S60ME-C10-HPSCR	8.4	C
1029	GABRIEL A IMO 9300659	1,676 TEU	2004	156 m	MAN - 7S50MC-C	8.4	C
1030	MAERSK CHICAGO IMO 9332975	6,188 TEU	2007	299 m	Wärtsilä - 10RT-flex96C	8.4	C
1031	MAERSK NEWPORT IMO 9356127	2,478 TEU	2005	210 m	Doosan - 7L70ME-C	8.4	C
1032	MAERSK SENTOSA IMO 9315202	5,648 TEU	2007	318 m	Wärtsilä - 11RT-flex96C	8.4	C
1033	LORRAINE IMO 9311763	2,742 TEU	2006	222 m	MAN - 7L70MC-C	8.4	C
1034	SPIRIT OF SYDNEY IMO 9391672	3,630 TEU	2007	254 m	MAN - 8S70MC-C	8.4	C
1035	ZIM SHANGHAI IMO 9305570	9,383 TEU	2006	351 m	MAN - 12K98MC	8.4	C
1036	MAERSK KENTUCKY IMO 9193240	4,300 TEU	1998	292 m	HHI - 10K90MC-C MK5	8.4	C
1037	LODUR IMO 9219381	3,100 TEU	2003	220 m	H. CEGIELSKI-POZNAN S.A. 7 K 80 MC-C	8.4	C
1038	SEOUL EXPRESS IMO 9193305	4,843 TEU	2000	294 m	MAN - 7K98MC	8.4	C
1039	VOLGA MAERSK IMO 9775749	3,600 TEU	2018	200 m	STX - 6G60ME-C9	8.4	C
1040	TOKYO EXPRESS IMO 9193290	4,843 TEU	2000	294 m	MAN - 7K98MC	8.4	C
1041	MSC QINGDAO IMO 9256470	7,731 TEU	2004	323 m	MAN - 12K98MC-C	8.4	C
1042	DACHAN BAY EXPRESS IMO 9539664	4,620 TEU	2012	260 m	CSSC - 8K80ME-C9	8.4	C
1043	CMA CGM VERDI IMO 9331165	5,527 TEU	2008	276 m	Hyundai - 10 RTA 96 C	8.4	C
1044	MSC PRATITI IMO 9280861	4,992 TEU	2004	294 m	Hyundai - 9 K 90 MC-C	8.4	C
1045	PANDA 008 IMO 9248162	5,752 TEU	2003	279 m	Hyundai - 10 RTA 96 C	8.4	C
1046	CYPRESS IMO 9461477	8,600 TEU	2011	335 m	Wärtsilä - 12RT-flex96C	8.4	C
1047	MSC CADIZ IMO 9480203	5,550 TEU	2011	270 m	MAN - 7K98MC-C	8.5	C
1048	INDEPENDENT PRIMERO IMO 9298636	3,091 TEU	2005	220 m	MAN - 7K80MC-C	8.5	C
1049	LAUST MAERSK IMO 9190743	4,045 TEU	2001	266 m	Doosan - 10K90MC	8.5	C
1050	MSC AQUARIUS IMO 9262704	6,492 TEU	2003	300 m	Diesel United - 12RTA96C	8.5	C

Page 21 of 42 — 2,098 vessels

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Engine intelligence

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 2024 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.

Emission-friendly engine ranking

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.