Danish carrier AP Moller-Maersk has selected the AE7 string connecting Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal for the deployment of the first of its 18 large methanol dual-fuel newbuilds.

Starting February 9, 2024, the 16,000 teu ship built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea will enter service, which includes port calls in Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo and Hamburg, with Ningbo, China, being its first destination.

The unit will be the world’s only second boxship capable of sailing on green methanol, the first being the feeder vessel Laura Maersk, which commenced service in September of this year.

“Deploying the first of our large methanol-enabled vessels on one of the world’s largest trade lanes, Asia – Europe, is a landmark in our journey towards our net-zero target. With the vessel’s capacity of 16,000 containers, this will make a significant impact in our customers’ efforts to decarbonise their supply chains, and we are looking forward to introducing more methanol-enabled vessels on this and other trades during 2024,” said Karsten Kildahl, chief commercial officer at Maersk.

Maersk has 24 boxships between 9,000 and 17,000 teu on order, which will be equipped with methanol dual-fuel engines.

The first 16,000 teu newbuild will be named at the shipyard in January 2024. The following two sister vessels will be deployed in the first half of 2024, with naming events taking place in Yokohama, Japan, and Los Angeles, US. Maersk expects to take delivery of four additional sister vessels in the second half of 2024.

The company said it has secured sufficient green methanol to cover the vessel’s maiden voyage and that work is in progress on 2024–25 sourcing solutions for the rest of its methanol-enabled ships.