Maersk to operate world’s 1st carbon-neutral feeder by 2023

Container shipping heavyweight, Maersk plans to launch the world’s first carbon-neutral liner vessel in 2023, seven years ahead of the initial 2030-ambition, Maersk said.

The vessel will be a methanol feeder with a capacity of around 2,000 TEU and it would be deployed in one of Maersk’s intra-regional networks.

While the vessel will be able to operate on standard VLSFO, the plan is to operate the vessel on carbon neutral e-methanol or sustainable bio-methanol from day one.

The Methanol Institute has welcomed the announcement.

“Maersk is once again showing industry leadership in adopting renewable methanol as a key plank in its strategy towards carbon neutrality,” Chris Chatterton, Chief Operating Officer of the Methanol Institute, said.

“Methanol is proven as a clean, efficient and safe marine fuel that offers immediate decarbonization benefits to vessel operators with substantial net GHG reductions, full compliance with IMO2020 and a pathway that leads to net carbon neutrality as production of renewable Methanol grows.”

The announcement comes amid growing customer demand for sustainable shipping chains as well as the acceleration of technological developments in the field to support the demand.

“Our customers expect us to help them decarbonise their global supply chains, and we are embracing the challenge, working on solving the practical, technical and safety challenges inherent in the carbon neutral fuels we need in the future. Our ambition to have a carbon neutral fleet by 2050 was a moonshot when we announced in 2018. Today we see it as a challenging, yet achievable target to reach,” says Søren Skou, CEO, A.P. Moller – Maersk.

Both the methanol-fuelled feeder vessel and the decision to install dual fuel engines on future newbuilding’s are part of Maersk’s ongoing fleet replacement plans.

The company expects CAPEX implications to be manageable. In its CAPEX guidance released last week, Maersk said that it expects to have $4.5-5.5 billion for 2021-2022.

The liner major ended the year with record quarterly results, forecasting an underlying EBITDA for 2021 in the range of $8.5-10.5bn, compared to $8.3bn in 2020.

Commenting last week on the prospects of ordering new ships, Skou said that Maersk needed to replace some of its aging tonnage, adding that nothing dramatic should be expected.

Lens/ World Maritime News