Maersk Names Latest Dual-fuel Methanol Containership Alexandra Maersk

A.P. Moller - Maersk on Wednesday held a naming ceremony in the U.K.'s Port of Felixstowe for its latest dual-fuel methanol container vessel, Alexandra Maersk.

The newbuild is the the sixth vessel in Maersk’s owned fleet that is capable of running on methanol fuel in its main and auxiliary engines, and the fifth ship in Maersk's series of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025—each with more than 16,000 TEU capacity.

The new ship Alexandra Maersk is named after Alexandra Mærsk-Møller (1868-1953) who was an older sister of Mr. A.P. Møller, the founder of A.P. Moller - Maersk.

U.K. Maritime Minister Mike Kane, representatives of the IMO, customers and Maersk employees were present for the naming event. Elaine Condon, Director of People & Culture at Primark, is the godmother of the ship, representing the close logistics and sustainability partnership between Maersk and its customer Primark.

“It’s a privilege to join the naming ceremony for the Alexandra Maersk, one of the first container vessels to run on green methanol. This is exactly the kind of innovation we need to deliver a greener, cleaner maritime sector which is better for people and for our planet,” Kane said. “Delivering greener transport is one of our top priorities and we will do so by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and investing in alternative fuels and technologies.”

Paul Marchant, CEO of Primark, said, “We are committed to reducing the impact we have on the environment across our entire operation, including our supply chain. Through our partnership with Maersk we have started to introduce green fuel alternatives, such as Biofuel, when shipping our products. By using Maersk’s ECO Delivery Ocean product and replacing fossil fuels with green fuel alternatives on Maersk’s cargo ships, we are reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our ocean shipping.  This is a really important step for us at Primark as it supports our ambition to halve our carbon emissions across our value chain by 2030,”

Maersk’s ECO Delivery Ocean is based on reduced GHG emission fuels like bio-diesel which is used on vessels across the Maersk fleet, and now also green methanol which our newest vessels like Alexandra Maersk are capable of sailing on.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller - Maersk, said, “It’s great to see customers like Primark taking action and partner with us to decarbonize ocean transport. True progress in the green transformation requires collective effort. To accelerate the transformation, we need the International Maritime Organization help closing the price gap between green and fossil fuels to make the green choice the best choice for all. Last weeks IMO meeting on that matter was a step in the right direction, but much work remains in the coming months. We remain hopeful and continue to do all in our power to progress the green transition of shipping.”