Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller – Maersk has ordered an additional six large ocean-going vessels that can sail on green methanol.
The six vessels will be built by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and have a nominal capacity of approx. 17,000 TEU. Maersk said that the newbuilds would replace existing capacity in the company’s fleet.
The six 17,000 TEU vessels are all to be delivered in 2025 and will sail under the flag of Denmark.
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.
Maersk has set a net-zero emissions target for 2040 across the entire business. The company is also working to achieve tangible near-term targets for 2030, which include a 50% reduction in emissions per transported container in the Maersk Ocean fleet compared to 2020 and only ordering newbuilt vessels that can be operated on green fuels.