Maersk adds methanol fleet with additional orders

Maersk has added to its growing orderbook of methanol dual-fuel containerships with a deal for a sextet of 9,000 teu vessels at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China.

Maersk set the ball rolling on methanol-fuelled newbuilds in 2021 with a series of 16,000 teu units plus one feeder in South Korea as part of its goal to achieve net zero in 2040. It has 25 methanol-enabled vessels on order.

No price has been revealed for the new ships that will deliver from 2026 with the last delivery scheduled for March 2027. The units will replace existing capacity in the Maersk fleet and are expected to slash annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 450,000 tons CO2e per year on a fuel lifecycle basis when operating on green methanol, Maersk stated in a release.

The Copenhagen-based shipping and logistics group is set to take delivery of its first ship that can run on methanol. The 2,100 teu feeder ship will join the fleet later this summer. Underlining how it sees methanol as its key fuel for the 2020s, Maersk earlier this month also announced another industry first that will see a retrofit of one of its ships to methanol dual-fuel in 2024.