Royal Caribbean Names Laursen EVP, Head of Marine
Royal Caribbean Group named Palle Laursen as executive vice president, head of marine, effective May 1, 2023. Laursen will report to Royal Caribbean Group’s President and CEO Jason Liberty and will join the company’s Executive Committee.With this newly created position, the company will centralize its global and brand marine operations functions under Laursen. He will oversee all marine operations for the company’s entire fleet, as well as strategic oversight of marine operations of its TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises…
Maersk Orders Six Methanol-fueled Containerships
A.P. Moller - Maersk announced it has ordered six more large containerships that can sail on green methanol as the Danish shipping giant makes headway toward its goal to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire business by 2040.Ordered to replace existing tonnage in the Maersk fleet, the six vessels will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and will each have a nominal capacity of approximately 17,000 TEU."Our customers are looking to us to decarbonize their supply chains…
Maersk Unveils Design for Methanol-fueled Containership
A.P. Moller-Maersk this week unveiled images and new design details for its series of eight 16,000 TEU containerships powered by carbon-neutral methanol.The groundbreaking vessels, ordered in August 2021 from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries for expected delivery by early 2024, will feature an innovative dual-fuel engine setup that can operate on methanol and conventional low-sulphur fuel. With 16,000-cubic-meter tanks for green methanol, the vessels will be able to complete an entire round-trip…
ABS to Class Maersk's Methanol-fueled Containerships
A groundbreaking series of eight large container vessels capable of being operated on carbon-neutral methanol ordered by Maersk, along with an option for a further four vessels, are to be built to ABS Class, the classification society announced on Tuesday.Ordered in August, the vessels will be built by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries and have a nominal capacity of approximately 16,000 containers. The series will replace older vessels, generating annual CO2 emissions…
Maersk Tests Russian Arctic Route
The Danish-flagged cargo ship Venta Maersk, owned by the world's biggest shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, has successfully passed through the Russian Arctic, in a trial voyage showing that melting sea ice could potentially open a new trade route from Europe to east Asia.Palle Laursen, the chief technical officer of A.P. Moller-Maersk saying that the cargo vessel has made the journey as a one-off trial. “The trial allowed us to gain exceptional operational experience, test vessel systems, crew capabilities and the functionality of the shore based support setup,” he said.Laursen said the ship, which had a cargo of frozen fish, arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday, after leaving Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Aug. 22.
Maersk Working to Tow Safmarine Meru to Safety
Maersk Line said it is working with Chinese authorities to develop a plan to tow its severely damaged containership Safmarine Meru to safety. On May 7, the Maersk-owed Safmarine Meru was heavily damaged and caught fire after colliding with the German-owned containership Northen Jasper approximately 120 nautical miles east of Ningbo, China. According to Maersk, the fire is under control and external firefighting has concluded with fire tugs remaining nearby to observe any developments.
Ship Loses Containers in Rough Seas
Accroding to a statement issued on behalf of the A.P.Moller-Maersk Group, container vessel Svendborg Maersk lost a significant number of containers overboard during very rough weather in the Bay of Biscay. On Friday, February 14, the container vessel Svendborg Maersk encountered very rough weather in the Bay of Biscay while en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, leading to minor vessel damage and the loss of a significant number of containers. The crew is safe and accounted for. Maersk said weather conditions at the time of the incident were severe, with wind blowing 60 knots and waves reaching 10 m.
Damaged Container Ship on Tow to Europe
The disabled 'Emma Maersk' starts the long tow from Suez to Europe for repairs to hull damage in vicinity of a stern thruster unit. Palle Laursen, Maersk Line’s Head of Ship Management in Copenhagen, says, “We are delighted that Emma is on the route back towards full service. However, this only the beginning of a long journey – once she gets to the repair facility it will still be several months before repairs are completed.” 

He adds: “The efforts of the crew, the local Maersk Line, SCCT, and Svitzer organisations and the underwater repair teams should be fully recognised in enabling this.
'Emma Maersk' Likely Months Out of Service
Palle Laursen, Head of Ship Management for Maersk Line, shares the latest update on the 'Emma Maersk' Suez incident. Initial inspections by divers show that the water ingress was caused by damage to one of the stern thrusters. Thrusters are used for improving the vessels manoeuvrability and consist of a shaft tunnel fitted with a propeller delivering sideways thrust. It is now known that several propeller blades have broken off and there is severe damage to the propeller mounting, resulting in a crack in the forward stern thruster tunnel which caused the ingress of water.
