A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) recently announced that it has ordered a further six large ocean-going vessels that can sail on green methanol.
The six vessels will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and have a nominal capacity of approx. 17,000 containers (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units – TEUs). They will replace existing capacity in the Maersk fleet, stated an official release from the company.
‘Our customers are looking to us to decarbonise their supply chains, and these six vessels able to operate on green methanol will further accelerate the efforts to offer our customers climate neutral transport’ said Mr Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands at Maersk. Maersk has set a net-zero emissions target for 2040 across the entire business and has also set tangible near-term targets for 2030 to ensure significant progress.
This includes a 50% reduction in emissions per transported container in the Maersk Ocean fleet compared to 2020 and a principle of only ordering new build vessels that can be operated on green fuels.
19 green methanol vessels on order
With the order, Maersk has in total ordered 19 vessels with dual-fuel engines able to operate on green methanol.’Green methanol is the best scalable green fuel solution for this decade, and we are excited to see several other shipowners choosing this path’ said Mr Palle Laursen, Chief Fleet & Technical Officer at Maersk.
The six 17,000 TEU vessels are all to be delivered in 2025 and will sail under the flag of Denmark. When all 19 vessels on order are deployed and have replaced older vessels, they will generate annual CO2 emissions savings of around 2.3 million tonnes. Maersk further reiterates its strategy of maintaining a fleet capacity at a maximum of 4.3 million TEU, as a combination of Maersk managed and time-chartered vessels.
