The first-ever cargo ship powered by Green Methanol embarks on debut journey

According to a report by Fast Company, the first-ever cargo ship running on green methanol has started its maiden journey this week. The methanol used to power the ship is made from methane captured from food waste at landfills.

The owner of the ship, Maersk, has pledged to only buy new ships that can use environmentally friendly fuels. They had ordered this methanol-powered ship two years ago and have ordered 25 more of these ships. Additionally, they are retrofitting older ships to use the same green fuel. By the end of the decade, around a quarter of Maersk’s ocean cargo ships will be using green fuels. Currently, the ship is sailing from South Korea to Denmark.

Green methanol can reduce a ship’s emissions by 65-70 percent, which is a significant environmental benefit considering that the shipping industry is responsible for emissions similar to the airline industry.

However, green methanol does not completely eliminate all emissions. Nevertheless, Maersk decided to adopt it as an alternative fuel because it is currently a practical and efficient option. Urgent action is needed from everyone to meet the Paris climate goals. “There’s this fear, I think, of making the wrong bet or getting it wrong somehow,” Morten Bo Christiansen, who leads decarbonization at Maersk, told an audience at the TED Countdown Summit last week, according to Fast Company.

“And of course, in the ideal world, we would spend a decade figuring out all the pros and cons and what is best. But we need to address this problem now.”

Maersk aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and plans to use a combination of retrofits and new ships to reach this target.