Maersk orders methanol-powered vessels

AP Moller–Maersk has ordered six mid-sized container vessels, all of which will dual-fuel engines will be able to operate on green methanol.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group will build the six 9,000 TEU vessels, Maersk confirmed, 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,” said Rabab Boulos, chief infrastructure officer at Maersk.

”As with all our other vessel orders for the last two years, these ships will be able to run on green methanol,” he noted.

In 2021, Maersk ordered the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel following a commitment to the principle of only ordering newbuilt vessels that can sail on green fuels.

Two years later, Maersk said that its global orderbook stood at more than 100 methanol-enabled vessels and by ordering the additional six vessels, Maersk now had 25 methanol-enabled vessels on order.

”For these six container vessels, we have chosen a design and vessel size which make them very flexible from a deployment point of view,” Boulos added.

”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.