Dual-fuel container and vehicle carrier fleet soars to 400 ships on the water

The World Shipping Council (WSC) has published its latest update to the WSC Dual-Fuel Fleet Dashboard, tracking the global liner shipping industry’s investment in new ships capable of running on renewable and lower-emissions fuels, and showing how the fleet is preparing for the energy transition. 

As of December 2025, the number of dual-fuel container ships and vehicle carriers on the water has hit 400, up from 218 in 2024.

The number of dual-fuel ships on order has continued to grow, reaching 726 vessels, despite a flurry of deliveries shifting from the orderbook onto the water. Across the container ship and vehicle carrier orderbook, 74% of vessels on order are dual-fuel.

In total, 1,126 dual-fuel container ships and vehicle carriers are now delivered or on order – an increase of 28% compared with last year. This represents more than US$150Bn of investment by the liner shipping industry in these new vessels.

Breaking down the global orderbook, WSC’s Dashboard shows that 6M TEU will be methane dual fuelled, with almost 2M TEU dual-fuel methanol propelled, and approximately 2M TEU will be propelled by conventional fuel, highlighting that future fuel demand will be led by methanol and methane dual-fuel container ship orders.

A statement from WSC said, “The expansion of the dual-fuel fleet reflects the scale of investment underway across the liner shipping industry. These vessels are built for the fuel transition, with the capability to switch to renewable and near-zero fuels as they become commercially viable and available at scale.”