maersk launches world's first carbon-neutral container ship, expected to sail in 2023

world’s largest shipping line maersk introduces the first ever carbon-neutral container vessel, expected to be at sea in 2023 – seven years ahead of the initial ambition. due to increasing customer demand for sustainable supply chains, the company accelerates the efforts to decarbonize marine operations with the launch of a methanol-fuelled 2,000 TEU feeder vessel, deployed on an intra-regional network. the danish group also shared that all future maersk owned new buildings will have dual-fuel technology installed.

all images courtesy of maersk

maritime transport is essential for the various intercontinental businesses, and it’s one of the cheapest that exists, but it’s also very polluting. to put an end to carbon emissions, danish giant maersk is launching its first ‘zero emission’ container vessel. ‘our customers expect us to help them decarbonize 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,’ says søren skou, CEO, A.P. moller – maersk. ‘our ambition to have a carbon-neutral fleet by 2050 was a moonshot when we announced it, in 2018. today we see it as a challenging, yet achievable target to reach,’ he adds.

maersk’s methanol feeder vessel will be deployed in one of its intra-regional networks, likely europe. while the supercargo 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.

‘it will be a significant challenge to source an adequate supply of carbon-neutral methanol within our timeline to pioneer this technology. our success relies on customers embracing this groundbreaking product and strengthened collaboration with fuel manufacturers, technology partners and developers to ramp up production fast enough,’ mentions henriette hallberg thygesen, CEO of fleet & strategic brands, A.P. moller – maersk. ‘we believe our aspiration to put the world’s first carbon-neutral liner vessel in operation by 2023 is the best way to kick start the rapid scaling of carbon-neutral fuels we will need.’