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Maersk unveils video of keenly awaited methanol-fuelled ship

Maersk has unveiled a video of its keenly awaited 2,000 teu, dual-fuel ship, which can run on either VLSFO or methanol, a landmark ship that has since opened the floodgates to many more methanol vessels being contracted at yards across Asia.

The ship was ordered two years ago and is due for delivery from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in a couple of months for deployment in the Baltic.

The ship, emblazoned with ‘All the way to zero’ across its hull, has now moved from the drydock into the water for the first time.

“The launching was successfully completed at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and the construction is continuing,” commented Henrik Ekmann, head of newbuilding and retrofit at Maersk, adding: “Launching these mega structures takes precision and care, extensive product and design development from a large number of key suppliers and driven forward by our procurement and fleet technology teams.”

Maersk also has a series of 16,000 teu methanol dual-fuelled ships under construction in South Korea, and other liners have followed its lead.

It is now not just containerlines going for methanol as the preferred alternative future fuel, dry bulk and tanker orders are also in the mix as are a host of leading names in the cruise business.

Analysis from class society DNV shows methanol was the second most popular alternative fuel choice for newbuild orders last year after LNG. Of the 106 methanol-fuelled ships on order by the end of last month, as tracked by DNV, 68 of them are for containerships.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.

Comments

  1. Well, this is splendid.

    How are the green methanol supplies coming along?

    1. Depends on supply of green hydrogen and the green electricity needed to make methanol from CO2 + H2. None of those stories about green methanol talk about the electricity needed to reverse combust CO2 and water. It’s as if they think they’ve suddenly discovered perpetual motion that everyone else before them totally overlooked.

  2. Whilst i love maersk and what they have done / are doing here and in geenral with the push to net zero.
    They could sure learn to ‘sex’ up their marketing a little? 🙂 This might be a moment that goes down in history and I feel they could at loeast try to hype things up just alittle bit perhaps?

    No major complaint here, just an observation.

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