The Offen Group has sealed a deal with leading liner operator Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) to install exhaust gas scrubbers on nine large containerships.

It has taken the decision after agreeing a six-year charter extension on a series of 14,000-teu vessels fixed with Geneva-based MSC.

The move provides a springboard for a project that could see hybrid scrubbers retrofitted onto up to 20 neo-panamax containerships in the German owner's fleet.