Containerships powered by liquefied natural gas, methanol or fitted with exhaust scrubbers now account for 50.6 per cent of global container capacity, surpassing conventionally powered vessels, reported Saint Petersburg's PortNews.

According to Alphaliner, conventional propulsion still dominates in vessel count, with 4,850 ships making up 73.6 per cent of the fleet. In contrast, LNG-powered ships number 208, methanol-powered 38, and scrubber-fitted 1,492.

By capacity, conventionally powered ships carry less than 16.1 million TEU, or 49.4 per cent of the global total. Scrubber-fitted ships contribute 13.6 million TEU, or 41.8 per cent, LNG-powered 2.46 million TEU, or 7.6 per cent, and methanol-powered about 0.4 million TEU, or 1.3 per cent.

The orderbook includes over 720 alternative-fuel vessels, representing 75 per cent of all ships on order and 93 per cent of total capacity, indicating a strong shift toward cleaner propulsion technologies.