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)

#622 of 2,098 container ships

CO₂ intensity

6.7 g CO₂/dwt·nm

vs segment average (10.39)

-36% 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
600	MAERSK FELIXSTOWE IMO 9969041	5,920 TEU	2023	255 m	MAN-B&W 6G80ME-C10	6.6	B
599	NINGBO EXPRESS IMO 9229843	7,179 TEU	2002	321 m	Hyundai - 12 K98MC	6.6	B
603	CMA CGM TOKYO IMO 9629380	6,622 TEU	2013	271 m	STX - 6S80ME-C	6.6	B
604	MSC ADELAIDE IMO 9618290	8,800 TEU	2013	300 m	Hyundai - 9S90ME-C8	6.6	B
605	EVER LUCENT IMO 9629067	8,488 TEU	2011	335 m	HHI - 9K98ME7.1	6.6	B
608	CAUTIN IMO 9687538	9,326 TEU	2014	300 m	MAN - 8S90ME-C	6.6	B
607	MSC RIKKU IMO 9393319	8,600 TEU	2009	340 m	Wärtsilä - 14RT-flex96C	6.6	B
606	SANTOS EXPRESS IMO 9777632	10,818 TEU	2017	333 m	MAN - 7S90ME-C9	6.6	B
610	MSC CASSANDRE IMO 9785471	11,500 TEU	2022	328 m	MAN - 8G95ME-C9	6.6	B
609	ZIM AMBER IMO 9967952	7,000 TEU	2023	272 m	Hudong Heavy Machinery Co Ltd - China 7G80ME-C10-GI-ERGTC	6.6	B
611	MSC ABY IMO 9166778	7,226 TEU	1999	347 m	Hitachi - 12K90MC	6.6	B
612	MAERSK CUBANGO IMO 9525481	4,500 TEU	2012	249 m	HHI - 6S80ME-C9	6.6	B
615	CMA CGM BEIRA IMO 9302956	2,602 TEU	2006	210 m	MAN - 8S70MC-C	6.7	B
614	VALIANT IMO 9628178	8,800 TEU	2013	300 m	MAN - 9S90ME-C8	6.7	B
616	ONE MANEUVER IMO 9475648	6,724 TEU	2011	302 m	Wärtsilä - 10RT-flex96C	6.7	B
613	SANTA CATARINA IMO 9444730	7,090 TEU	2007	300 m	Wärtsilä - 8RT-flex96C	6.7	B
617	KUALA LUMPUR EXPRESS IMO 9343730	8,606 TEU	2008	336 m	Hyundai - 12 K 98 ME	6.7	B
619	TIRUA IMO 9612882	8,000 TEU	2012	300 m	Doosan - 7K98ME-MK7	6.7	B
618	MAERSK GIBRALTAR IMO 9739692	10,100 TEU	2016	337 m	CSSC - 10S90ME-C9	6.7	B
621	CMA CGM FORT BOURBON IMO 9966752	7,600 TEU	2024	268 m	MAN-B&W 6G80ME-C10-GI	6.7	B
620	APL VANCOUVER IMO 9597472	9,200 TEU	2013	328 m	Doosan - 10S90ME-C MK9.2 TIER 2 (58,100 KW AT 84 RPM / 51,070 KW AT 84 RPM)	6.7	B
624	MAERSK KINLOSS IMO 9333022	6,200 TEU	2008	300 m	Doosan - 10RT-flex96C	6.7	B
623	MAERSK SELETAR IMO 9315197	5,648 TEU	2007	318 m	Wärtsilä - 11RT-flex96C	6.7	B
622	MSC FIE X IMO 9120853	7,226 TEU	1997	347 m	Hitachi - 12K90MC	6.7	B
625	NAVIOS CONSTELLATION IMO 9408877	10,000 TEU	2011	350 m	Wärtsilä - 12RT-flex96C	6.7	B
626	OOCL CHONGQING IMO 9622629	13,200 TEU	2013	366 m	Hyundai - 12S90ME-C9	6.7	B
628	ISTANBUL EXPRESS IMO 9723277	9,040 TEU	2016	300 m	Wärtsilä - 8X92	6.7	B
627	CMA CGM LAMARTINE IMO 9409194	6,500 TEU	2010	300 m	MAN - 10K98MC-C	6.7	B
631	MSC ELMA IMO 9735218	9,400 TEU	2016	300 m	MAN - 9S90ME-C10	6.7	B
633	MSC SANDRA IMO 9203954	4,340 TEU	2000	274 m	Sulzer - 8RTA84C	6.7	B
630	MSC FLAVIA IMO 9467433	12,400 TEU	2012	366 m	MAN - 12K98MC-C	6.7	B
629	KOTKA IMO 9085534	6,418 TEU	1996	318 m	Mitsui - 12K90MC	6.7	B
632	MSC YUKTA X IMO 9146467	7,226 TEU	1995	347 m	Hitachi - 12K90MC	6.7	B
635	MSC MELINE IMO 9702077	8,800 TEU	2015	300 m	MAN - 9S90ME-C9	6.7	B
634	EBBA MAERSK IMO 9321524	11,000 TEU	2007	398 m	Doosan - DOOSAN-SULZER 14RT-FLEX96C	6.7	B
636	XIN SHANGHAI IMO 9307231	9,574 TEU	2006	337 m	MAN - 12K98MC-C	6.7	B
638	MSC MARIA ELENA IMO 9304423	9,200 TEU	2006	337 m	Doosan - 12K98MC-C	6.7	B
637	JAZAN IMO 9349540	6,435 TEU	2008	306 m	Wärtsilä - 11RT-flex96C	6.7	B
641	MSC DESIREE IMO 9745665	9,400 TEU	2017	300 m	MAN - 9S90ME-C10	6.7	B
640	VALUE IMO 9628166	8,800 TEU	2013	300 m	MAN - 9S90ME-C8	6.7	B
639	MAERSK COLOMBO IMO 9525390	4,500 TEU	2012	249 m	HHI - 6S80ME-C9	6.7	B
642	MSC MARGRIT IMO 9465318	13,100 TEU	2012	366 m	MAN - 12K98ME7	6.7	B
644	ALTAMIRA EXPRESS IMO 9407146	5,041 TEU	2009	294 m	Wärtsilä - 8RTA96C	6.8	B
643	OSAKA EXPRESS IMO 9320697	8,606 TEU	2007	335 m	MAN - 12K98ME	6.8	B
648	CALLAO EXPRESS IMO 9777606	10,818 TEU	2016	333 m	MAN - 7S90ME-C9	6.8	B
647	APL NEW YORK IMO 9597484	9,200 TEU	2013	328 m	Doosan - 10S90ME-C MK9.2 TIER 2 (58,100 KW AT 84 RPM / 51,070 KW AT 84 RPM)	6.8	B
646	SANTA URSULA IMO 9430387	7,114 TEU	2007	300 m	Doosan - 8RT FLEX 96C	6.8	B
645	BREMEN EXPRESS IMO 9343728	8,606 TEU	2008	335 m	MAN - 12K98ME	6.8	B
650	MSC ABIDJAN IMO 9618264	8,800 TEU	2013	300 m	Hyundai - 9S90ME-C8	6.8	B
649	MSC VANCOUVER IMO 9285691	7,455 TEU	2004	300 m	Sulzer - 12RTA96C	6.8	B

Page 13 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.