Tuesday 31 August 2021

Maersk sails ahead with ‘carbon-neutral’ container ships order

Maersk sails ahead with ‘carbon-neutral’ container ships order

Shipping giant Maersk has placed an order for eight large container vessels that are capable of operating on carbon-neutral methanol as well as traditional fuel.

They will replace older vessels and are expected to generate carbon savings of around one million tonnes annually.

Maersk intends to operate the vessels on carbon-neutral e-methanol or sustainable bio-methanol “as soon as possible” as sourcing an adequate amount of carbon-neutral methanol from day one in service is said to be challenging.

Soren Skou, CEO, A.P. Moller – Maersk said: “The time to act is now, if we are to solve shipping’s climate challenge.

“This order proves that carbon-neutral solutions are available today across container vessel segments and that Maersk stands committed to the growing number of our customers who look to decarbonise their supply chains. Further, this is a firm signal to fuel producers that sizeable market demand for the green fuels of the future is emerging at speed.”

The order, which has been placed with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), means the new vessels would help to ship goods from companies including Amazon, Disney, H&M Group, Microsoft and Unilever – they have committed to actively use zero carbon solutions for their ocean transport.

Leyla Ertur, Head of Sustainability – H&M Group said: “As an industry leader, H&M Group has a responsibility to fight climate change. We have the ambition to become climate neutral by 2030 and climate positive by 2040. We truly believe that our climate actions should be co-created with our partners.

“Maersk’s investment in large vessels operating on green methanol is an important innovative step supporting H&M Group’s climate goals within International Freight and we are proud to take part in this pioneer journey.”

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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