Maersk Takes Delivery of World’s First Methanol-Fueled Containership

Maersk has announced the delivery of the world’s first methanol-powered containership.

The vessel, a 2,100 TEU capacity feeder ship, is the first of 25 carbon neutral containerships Maersk has on order that will be powered by green methanol fuel.

The 172-meter-long vessel was ordered in July 2021 from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea. The vessel, which is registered in Denmark, will be operated on a Baltic shipping route between Northern Europe and the Bay of Bothnia.

Maersk last month announced it had secured the ISCC certified green biomethanol for the ship’s maiden voyage from OCI Global. 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.

Maersk has set ambitious sustainability goals, aiming to become carbon neutral by 2040, which is a decade ahead of most other companies in the sector. The company has also set nearer-term targets that call for a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity from its ocean fleet and a 70% reduction in absolute emissions from its fully controlled terminals by 2030.

To meet these goals, Maersk has on order 24 additional green methanol-powered ships, including 12 16,000 TEU and six 17,000 TEU ships at Hyundai Heavy Industries, with deliveries in 2024 and 2025, plus six additional 9,000 TEU ships ordered from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China. Those six deliveries are planned in 2026 and 2027.

The new feeder ship is expected to take on the name Laura Maersk at an official naming ceremony in Copenhagen in September.

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