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EC President Ursula von der Leyen has agreed to be the godmother of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s new feeder vessel, the first-ever container ship powered by green methanol fuel
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President Von der Leyen will formally name the vessel at a ceremony on September 14 in Copenhagen, where it will begin its regular operational route in the Baltic Sea
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The ship will provide real operational experience for Maersk seafarers handling the new engines and using green methanol as fuel
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be the godmother of A.P. Moller- Maersk’s new feeder container vessel, the first methanol fueled ship, the Danish global transport and logistics giant announced on June 6.
The Commission President will formally name the vessel at a ceremony on September 14 in Copenhagen, where it arrives on its maiden voyage before heading to its regular operational route in the Baltic Sea.
The Danish-flagged 172-meter-long vessel is a key milestone for Maersk’s plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the entire business by 2040.
“Just a few years ago, this iconic ship was merely a vision. Now, it is a reality, and we are honored that Ursula von der Leyen has agreed to be its godmother,” A.P. Moller-Maersk group chief executive Vincent Clerc said in a press statement.
“The European Commission, and especially its President, have been instrumental in steering the European continent towards an ambitious, green future. Our new vessel serves as a concrete example of the transformations that EU policies are supporting. This truly is the embodiment of the green deal in action.”
The 2,100-TEU (twenty-foot-equivalent) container vessel will stay in the Toldboden area of the Copenhagen harbor for about a week and be the focal point of several events and activities related to the shipping industry’s effort to decarbonize, Maersk said.
The ship will provide real operational experience for Maersk seafarers handling the new engines and using green methanol as fuel, as the company prepares to receive a fleet of new, large ocean-going ships sailing on methanol fuel from 2024.
To meet the ambitious 2040 target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions in time, Maersk aims to transport a minimum of 25% of ocean cargo using green fuels by 2030, compared with a 2020 baseline.
The landmark feeder vessel is a major step towards Maersk’s long-term objective of gradually renewing its entire fleet to operate solely on green fuels, the company said.
Maersk plans to launch early next year the first methanol fueled ship from the fleet of eight large container vessels capable of sailing powered by the decarbonized fuel.
The vessels will have a nominal capacity of about 16,000 TEUs and will offer shippers the industry’s first truly carbon-neutral transportation, Maersk said.
On October 5, 2021, Maersk announced it had ordered six more of the methanol-fueled ships from Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). The new order will bring to 14 Maersk’s methanol-fired container ships
