MOL Ocean Bulk Pte. Ltd. (MOLOB), which operates the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) Group's overseas Capesize bulker business, has signed a 25-year contract with Vale International S.A., a subsidiary of Vale S.A., to transport iron ore using two 210,000 deadweight-tonne ore carriers. As part of Vale's shipping decarbonisation strategy, the vessels will be the world's first ore carriers of this size equipped with a tri-fuel propulsion system capable of running on ethanol, methanol, and conventional heavy fuel oil. The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2030 and will primarily carry out transoceanic transport of Vale's iron ore from Brazil, mainly to China.
Why Three Fuels, Plus Two More Held in Reserve
Beyond the tri-fuel engine itself, the vessels are also being built with an LNG/ammonia-ready design, meaning either fuel could be adopted in future without requiring a full engine replacement. MOL frames this layered flexibility explicitly around hedging against uncertainty: by allowing fuel selection based on availability, decarbonisation benefit and economics at the time, rather than committing to a single fuel pathway at the point of construction, the vessels are designed to remain adaptable across whichever fuel or combination of fuels proves most practical and cost-effective over the length of a 25-year contract.
Why Ethanol Specifically
MOL's statement cites information provided by Vale indicating ethanol could reduce carbon emissions by up to approximately 90% compared with heavy fuel oil on a full lifecycle basis, from production through consumption, a figure attributed to Vale rather than independently verified by MOL in this release. MOL frames ethanol's relative ease of handling as a specific factor expected to support its wider adoption as a marine fuel.
What a 25-Year Contract Signals About Confidence in the Technology
Committing to a quarter-century charter specifically for vessels using a propulsion technology not yet proven at this exact vessel size and fuel combination is a notably long-duration bet relative to typical newbuild charter terms in bulk shipping, and reflects both companies' use of the contract to anchor demand for a still-unproven multi-fuel configuration over a timeframe long enough to absorb likely shifts in fuel pricing, availability and regulation across the vessels' operating life, rather than a shorter-term arrangement that would need renegotiating as fuel markets evolve.
Where This Sits Within Each Company's Broader Strategy
MOL frames the project within its "BLUE ACTION 2035 Phase 2" environmental vision, which targets net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, describing the vessels' operation as advancing both MOL's own decarbonisation targets and Vale's Scope 3 emissions reduction specifically tied to its marine transport activities. MOL states it will also work with customers and partners across the full ethanol and methanol supply chain, covering procurement, supply and bunkering, rather than treating vessel construction as the complete scope of its involvement in scaling these fuels for shipping.
Source: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, 2 October 2026.
