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 2025. Lower is greener. Pick a segment and size class to see the greenest vessels first.
| # | Vessel | Size (TEU) | Built | Carbon intensity — AER (g CO₂/dwt·nm) | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 |
MSC TIANA F
IMO 9108398
|
1,129 TEU | 1996 |
14.2
|
E |
| 1802 |
MSC KUWAIT III
IMO 9226413
|
2,462 TEU | 2001 |
14.2
|
E |
| 1803 |
ERASMUS GOAL
IMO 9626558
|
1,805 TEU | 2013 |
14.2
|
E |
| 1804 |
NEPTUNE MATUA
IMO 9670119
|
2,190 TEU | 2015 |
14.2
|
E |
| 1805 |
PORTSMOUTH
IMO 9302437
|
2,478 TEU | 2004 |
14.2
|
E |
| 1806 |
UAFL RACER
IMO 9334818
|
1,740 TEU | 2007 |
14.2
|
E |
| 1807 |
DOUCE FRANCE
IMO 9845661
|
2,200 TEU | 2020 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1808 |
APL SAIPAN
IMO 9239850
|
1,638 TEU | 2002 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1809 |
CHIQUITA MERCHANT
IMO 9344631
|
1,819 TEU | 2007 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1810 |
ESPERANCE
IMO 9491484
|
1,349 TEU | 2011 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1811 |
RAQUEL S
IMO 9515591
|
1,577 TEU | 2009 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1812 |
VALENCIA EXPRESS
IMO 9108130
|
2,400 TEU | 1996 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1813 |
DJANET
IMO 9845063
|
1,500 TEU | 2020 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1814 |
MARINA L
IMO 9431331
|
1,300 TEU | 2009 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1815 |
TRADEWIND
IMO 9367944
|
907 TEU | 2007 |
14.3
|
E |
| 1816 |
CMA CGM FORT ST PIERRE
IMO 9261891
|
2,226 TEU | 2003 |
14.4
|
E |
| 1817 |
ALEXANDER B
IMO 9328649
|
1,200 TEU | 2006 |
14.4
|
E |
| 1818 |
CIRTA
IMO 9845051
|
1,500 TEU | 2020 |
14.4
|
E |
| 1819 |
GRANDE MEDITERRANEO
IMO 9138393
|
716 TEU | 1998 |
14.4
|
E |
| 1820 |
AS PENELOPE
IMO 9294537
|
2,572 TEU | 2005 |
14.5
|
E |
| 1821 |
MEDKON RIZE
IMO 9114347
|
652 TEU | 1996 |
14.5
|
E |
| 1822 |
GRANDE DAKAR
IMO 9680724
|
1,800 TEU | 2015 |
14.5
|
E |
| 1823 |
ST. JOHN
IMO 9634646
|
1,700 TEU | 2014 |
14.6
|
E |
| 1824 |
MSC RUTH F
IMO 9212034
|
1,216 TEU | 2000 |
14.6
|
E |
| 1825 |
ELBTOWER
IMO 9968918
|
1,400 TEU | 2021 |
14.6
|
E |
| 1826 |
MSC NITA
IMO 9084607
|
1,512 TEU | 1996 |
14.6
|
E |
| 1827 |
CMA CGM CAYENNE
IMO 9709192
|
2,100 TEU | 2015 |
14.6
|
E |
| 1828 |
MEDKON SIA
IMO 9306249
|
1,100 TEU | 2004 |
14.7
|
E |
| 1829 |
JUDITH BORCHARD
IMO 1016575
|
17,498 | 2024 |
14.7
|
E |
| 1830 |
MOLIVA
IMO 9454034
|
951 TEU | 2014 |
14.7
|
E |
| 1831 |
GRANDE ATLANTICO
IMO 9130951
|
1,302 TEU | 1999 |
14.7
|
E |
| 1832 |
DETTIFOSS
IMO 9822853
|
2,150 TEU | 2020 |
14.8
|
E |
| 1833 |
HANSA ROTENBURG
IMO 9401673
|
1,740 TEU | 2009 |
14.8
|
E |
| 1834 |
AURETTE A
IMO 9242285
|
1,170 TEU | 2002 |
14.8
|
E |
| 1835 |
YM INVENTIVE
IMO 9319105
|
1,805 TEU | 2007 |
14.8
|
E |
| 1836 |
AS FREYA
IMO 9292436
|
1,200 TEU | 2004 |
14.8
|
E |
| 1837 |
GRANDE CONGO
IMO 9437921
|
800 TEU | 2010 |
14.9
|
E |
| 1838 |
EAGLE II
IMO 9301122
|
1,300 TEU | 2006 |
14.9
|
E |
| 1839 |
GRANDE AFRICA
IMO 9130949
|
1,302 TEU | 1998 |
14.9
|
E |
| 1840 |
JONNI RITSCHER
IMO 9333383
|
1,856 TEU | 2006 |
15.0
|
E |
| 1841 |
SONDERBORG
IMO 9454242
|
1,085 TEU | 2012 |
15.0
|
E |
| 1842 |
PANDA 003
IMO 9968891
|
1,400 TEU | 2024 |
15.0
|
E |
| 1843 |
SPRING C
IMO 9308027
|
3,500 TEU | 2007 |
15.0
|
E |
| 1844 |
GRANDE EUROPA
IMO 9138381
|
712 TEU | 1998 |
15.1
|
E |
| 1845 |
GRANDE SAN PAOLO
IMO 9253208
|
1,321 TEU | 2003 |
15.2
|
E |
| 1846 |
EMOTION
IMO 9359258
|
1,440 TEU | 2008 |
15.2
|
E |
| 1847 |
CMA CGM KOUROU
IMO 9845659
|
2,200 TEU | 2020 |
15.2
|
E |
| 1848 |
DIANE A
IMO 9385532
|
1,604 TEU | 2008 |
15.2
|
E |
| 1849 |
CMA CGM MARSEILLE
IMO 9709207
|
2,100 TEU | 2015 |
15.2
|
E |
| 1850 |
CMA CGM ABIDJAN
IMO 9323481
|
1,740 TEU | 2006 |
15.2
|
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.