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, and these six vessels able to operate on green methanol will further accelerate the efforts to offer our customers climate neutral transport. Global action is needed in this decade in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to a 1.5°C temperature rise," said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands at Maersk.
Maersk's emissions goal includes a 50% reduction per transported container in the Maersk Ocean fleet compared to 2020, and the company will only order newbuilds that can be operated on green fuels.
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. It adds further momentum to the rapid scaling of availability needed to bring down the premium on green methanol and accelerate the evolution of climate neutral shipping," said Palle Laursen, Chief Fleet & Technical Officer at Maersk
Benchmarked against conventional fuel capabilities, additional capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the methanol dual-fuel capability is in the range of 8-12%, which is an improvement compared to when Maersk ordered eight vessels with the same technology last year, the company said.
The six 17,000 TEU vessels are all to be delivered in 2025 and will sail under the Danish flag. 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.
