MPPs: A fleet in transition

While the project industry is in flux facing geopolitical challenges, the MPP fleet is shaping a new course as the vessels being built are a new generation of ships, representing a major departure from the existing MPP fleet.

Whether they are called MPPs (Multi or Multiple Purpose) carriers or MPVs (Multi or Multiple Purpose) vessels, these are the ships that are the workhorses for the ocean movement of oversized cargo and project freight. Generally, the MPP ships are on the smaller size of around 12,000 dwt-14,000 dwt [F Class] relative to the dry bulk carriers and Ro/Ros (roll-on/roll-off) equipped with self-sustaining cranes [geared] — often specifically designed to handle oversized cargo loads.

Toepfer Transport, a Hamburg Germany-based shipbroker, is among the best at analyzing and tracking the MPP fleet, with their Toepfer Transport Multipurpose Shipping Index (TMI) and the quarterly Toepfer Multipurpose Shipping Report. The TMI is a key tool in following the MPP sector as it represents the monthly average time charter rate assessment for 6-12 months for a 12,500 tons deadweight MPP/HL “F-Type” vessel.

Although the MPP fleet is principally dedicated to moving project cargo it is squeezed by other ocean carrier sectors such as Ro/Ro (which also can handle oversized loads) and containerships with deck loads. The poaching of freight from one vessel sector to another is often driven by freight rates as low freight rates for containerships will make non-traditional freight attractive. And the reverse can also be true as high containership freight rates will drive shippers to look for alternatives like MPPs. Nonetheless, how the project sector fares is the main factor in driving the MPP sector’s success or failure.

MPP Market: Stable for Now…

Toepfer in their last quarterly MPP report (published in July) the charter market for MPPs was expressed in the TMI index as “stable”. The report opened with the statement, “The TMI continues to remain stable, with almost no significant up or down movement, but it remains unclear whether this stability indicates a strong and resilient market environment, or if it’s merely the calm before the storm.”

Among the factors mentioned by Toepfer that are pushing and pulling at MPP, the metrics for the charter is the now unlikely reopening of the Red Sea routes with increased tension with the Houthis and ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. As the report related, “The expected decline in tonnage-miles for breakbulk and project cargoes associated with the resumption of the Suez transit will not occur in the near future.”

Conversely, the project market has taken a double-hit from the Trump administration’s anti-renewable energy crusade — especially with his personal enmity to wind power — and the global tariff war. And as Toepfer explains, “The high volatility of US import tariffs that are announced, then postponed, and later raised or lowered, and then once again further postponed, creates ongoing uncertainties that make it difficult to predict the costs and risks of projects and supply chains involving the Americas.”

However, there are signs the oil & gas (O&G) segment of the project business is still strong. The O&G project sector is forecasted to grow by $9.9 trillion by 2029. A significant portion of this growth is expected to be with LNG as export projects are already in the works in the US, Qatar and Canada and due to be online by 2026-2028. Equally the mining sector is also going strong with more than 5,400 mining projects in the works in 2025 worth an estimated $406 billion.

MPPs: A Fleet in Transition

Historically, the MPP fleet has been slow to turnover although that could change over the coming months leading into 2026.

The equipment specialization such as shipboard cranes, and deployment in niche market — a project plus other suitable freight — for shipowners adds a level of caution to the large upfront investment in MPP newbuildings, although there has always been a lively sale and purchase second-hand market for these specialized ships. Toepfer in their reading of the newbuilding market for MPPS wrote, “Due to the current mismatch between charter rates and prices, ordering activity in the MPP space is currently limited. Behind the scenes, there is a sense of optimism and a readiness to seize opportunities, as many are eager to be prepared once the conditions align.”

Of course, the difficulty is determining when conditions might be right for a surge in MPP orders. Overall shipbuilding orders are down compared to 2024 although equipment prices — cranes and other shipboard equipment prices remain steady. With the ship order decline, will ship building prices drop enough to encourage more orders from the MPP? Maybe. But a great deal depends on project demand which is difficult to read in this volatile global market.

However, one thing is clear from the vessels currently being delivered, there is a new generation of ships entering the MPP fleet. And this new generation is often larger, with greater lifting capacity, more versatile and powered by eco-friendly dual-fueled engines.

For example, Spliethoff, a major MPP operator is expanding their fleet with a newbuilding order from Wuhu Shipyard Co. Ltd. in China for the construction of a new series of eight MPP vessels with an option for two additional ships. This new L-Type series, will be delivered starting the first quarter of 2028. The L-type vessels are specially designed to handle dry cargo, ranging from paper products, bulk cargo, project cargo and containers. These Finnish/Swedish 1A Ice-Classed vessels will measure 203.25 m [667 ft] in length, 28.25 m in [93 feet] width, and will have a maximum draft of 10.5 m. [34 ft]. And they will have a total capacity of about 33,700 m3 [1,190,108 cu/ft] and a deadweight of 28,600 mt, [31,526 tons] making them the largest vessels in the Spliethoff fleet. Spliethoff says the energy-efficient MPPs are designed with slender hull lines and are setup for the use of future fuels. The vessels, with the bridge located near the bow will be equipped with five lifts (side loaders) and three cranes with a capacity of 150 mt each, combinable to 300 mt SWL (Safe Working Load).

AAL has taken a similar approach to going big with a new generation of MPP ships with the Super B-Class 32,000 dwt heavy lifters So far, with June launch of the MV AAL Damman, the company has launched six of the methanol-ready Super-B MPP ships. As Stewart Chen AAL’s Research and Analytics Manager said of the Super-Bs last year, “Built with methanol-ready engines, next-generation hull coatings, and advanced route optimization software, these 32,000-deadweight heavy lifters are servicing larger and more complex cargoes across dynamic sectors like offshore energy. We can now transport more cargo units per voyage, reducing the number of sailings required and lowering overall GHG emissions.” But the Super-Bs are also about lift capabilities and freight capacity. AAL’s eight heavy lifters can handle over 150,000 FRT [Freight Revenue Tons] of cargo, with three 350 mt heavy lift cranes. The vessel’s two large box-shaped cargo holds feature adjustable pontoon triple decks and no center line bulkhead. The units have a length of 179.9 meters (590 feet) and a breadth of 30 meters (98 feet).

Still, it isn’t necessarily about size as MPPs are designed to fulfill a specialized niche. And BBC Chartering’s new LakerMax Class are an example of building to that niche. The vessels were designed to replace BBC’s traditional F-Class ships with vessels of similar size but with “the emphasis placed on a massively higher utilization of the available cargo hold and deck space,” according to the Leer Germany-based Briese Group — the parent of BBC Chartering, the vessel operator. On May 21st, 2024, Briese took its first of the fifteen LakerMax Class newbuildings, the appropriately named MV BBC Leer.

The 13,000 dwt MPP vessels are equipped with two Liebherr LS 250 shipboard cranes, with a combined lifting capacity of up to 500 mt. Bridge and crew accommodation are located towards the bow of the ship, with the two cranes located portside. This allows for an unobstructed 2,830 sqm of space on the weather deck. The two cargo holds are box shaped and offer nearly 26,000 cbm (cubic meters) of cargo floor space offering close to 5,000 sqm, when two tween decks are in operation.

As the names implies the LakerMax vessels were designed to fit in both the St Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes. And in May the MV BBC Houston completed her first passages through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System into Lake Erie and back, marking the inaugural voyage for a LakerMax through the waterways for which they were designed. And like all vessels populating this new generation of MPPs the emphasis on versatility and efficiency shows through.