An illustration of Maersk's 2,100 TEU capacity feeder ship under construction. Image courtesy Maersk
Danish shipping giant Maersk has secured the green methanol fuel for the maiden voyage of its first dual-fuel containership under construction in South Korea.
Under an agreement, OCI Global (Euronext: OCI) will supply Maersk with the ISCC certified green biomethanol for the ship’s maiden voyage this summer to Northern Europe via the Suez Canal. The vessel will bunker at several major ports along the way, including the Port of Rotterdam.
The feeder ship, with a capacity of 2,100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), is the first of nineteen carbon-neutral green methanol-powered ships that Maersk has on order. It measures 172 meters in length and was commissioned in July 2021. Once in service, the vessel will operate on a Baltic route connecting Northern Europe and the Bay of Bothnia.
The other 18 dual-fuel ships will be much larger (16,000 and 17,000 TEU capacity) and are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries with deliveries in 2024 and 2025.
Maersk has been busy lining up partners on the supply green methanol for the fleet.
OCI Global, known for its OCI HyFuels brand, has been at the forefront of green methanol development and is a leading supplier in the field. The company has played a pivotal role in advancing the application of green methanol in vehicles and currently supplies up to 200,000 tons per year equivalent. The company is now in the process of expanding its range of low-carbon and green methanol products, which now includes biomethanol, e-methanol, recycled carbon fuel (RCF) methanol, renewable natural gas, ethanol, and bio-MTBE.
With the maritime industry facing mounting pressure to expedite its decarbonization efforts, OCI foresees a significant rise in global demand for methanol, with an estimated 4 million tons per year increase in the next five years, driven by current orders from the marine sector.
Earlier this year, OCI announced a partnership with Unibarge to retrofit the first methanol-powered bunker barge, which will be deployed at the Port of Rotterdam.
“This marks another significant milestone in our global leadership in supplying and trading renewable and low-carbon fuels to decarbonize energy-intensive industries,” said Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO at OCI Global. “We also appreciate the collaboration and leadership of our partners at each of the ports to facilitate this journey. With the maritime industry facing increasing regulatory scrutiny, its decarbonization is urgent, and OCI is playing a crucial role in helping the sector meet its environmental goals through our existing methanol capabilities. This positions us well in the marine and fuels markets to capitalize on the forthcoming ammonia fuel demand.”
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