Maersk orders six methanol-powered vessels, to be delivered by 2026, 2027

A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) has made an order of six mid-sized container vessels – all having dual-fuel engines able to operate on green1 methanol. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group will build the six 9,000 TEU vessels which will be delivered in 2026 and 2027.

"With this order, we take another step in the green transformation of our fleet and towards our target of becoming net-zero in 2040. As with all our other vessel orders for the last two years, these ships will be able to run on green methanol," said Rabab Boulos, Chief Infrastructure Officer at Maersk.

In 2021, Maersk ordered the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel following a commitment to the principle of only ordering new-built vessels that can sail on green fuels. Just two years later, the global order book stands at more than 100 methanol-enabled vessels. By ordering additional six vessels, Maersk now has 25 methanol-enabled vessels on order.

Boulos added, "For these six container vessels, we have chosen a design and vessel size which make them very flexible from a deployment point of view. This will allow these vessels to fill many functions in both our current and our future network, thereby offering the flexibility our customers' demand. Once phased in, they will replace existing capacity in our fleet."

Later this summer, the first methanol-enabled vessel, a 2,100 TEU feeder vessel, will be delivered to Maersk. Among some of the features about the six new vessels include

• They have a capacity of 9,000 containers (Twenty Foot Equivalent - TEU)
• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group will build the six vessels in China
• The ships will be delivered from 2026 and with the last delivery in March 2027
• All of them have dual-fuel engines making them able to operate on both fuel oil and methanol
• Upon delivery, the vessels will replace the existing capacity in the Maersk fleet
• Replacing vessels in a similar size segment, the new vessels will reduce Maersk’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 450,000 tons of CO2e per year on a fuel lifecycle basis when operating on green methanol.

As per the press release on the development, Maersk defines “green fuels” as fuels with low to very low GHG emissions over their life cycle compared to fossil fuels as different green fuels achieve different life cycle reductions depending on their production pathway. The release further cited that for future fuels like methanol where Maersk is involved in the project design and development, the company would strive to achieve higher GHG reductions than the legislative thresholds put in place.