Integrated container logistics company A.P. Moller – Maersk announced today an order for six large ocean-going container vessels capable of being operated on carbon-neutral methanol, to be built by shipbuilding company Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).

The ships, each with a nominal capacity of approximately 17,000 containers, are to be delivered in 2025. Running on green methanol, the ships are expected to save about 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

Earlier this year, Maersk unveiled a series of carbon reduction targets, aiming to achieve net zero gas emissions in 2040 across its entire businesses and all scopes, as well as a 50% reduction in emissions per transported container in its ocean fleet, and a 70% reduction in absolute emissions from fully controlled terminals by 2030. The company has also introduced a principle of only ordering newbuilt vessels that can be operated on green fuels.

Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands at Maersk, said:

“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.”

The announcement marks the latest in a series of orders by Maersk of clean-fuel-powered container ship over the past several months, including an order in July 2021 for the world’s first carbon-neutral methanol fueled container ship, followed by an order for 8 large methanol-powered ocean-going container vessels. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a series of agreements to source at least 730,000 tones of green methanol per year by the end of 2025.

The new transaction brings Maersk’s total orders to 19 vessels with dual fuel engines capable of operating on green methanol. When the vessels have replaced older vessels, they will collectively generate annual CO2 emissions savings of around 2.3 million tonnes.

Palle Laursen, Chief Fleet & Technical Officer at Maersk, said:

“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.”

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