THE DESIGN SPECIFICATION OF THE PIONEERING METHANOL-POWERED FEEDER HAS BEEN REVEALED BY MAERSK

On 21st March 2023, the business posted images of the feeder vessel's design on its social media pages, showcasing it from different perspectives. The vessel is anticipated to be delivered by Hyundai Mipo Shipyard, making this an essential milestone for the company and the sector of the marine industry as a whole.

The feeder vessel, which is the primary of Maersk's decarbonization plan as the business is striving to become net-zero by 2040, features a dual-fuel engine that can run on green methanol.

According to Maersk, all significant design-related milestones have been met, and manufacturing is moving forward at full pace. Delivery of the vessel occurs in the summer of this year. The ship was ordered in 2021 and has a capacity of about 2,000 TEU. The objective is to operate the vessel on carbon-neutral e-methanol or sustainable bio-methanol from the first day, even though it will be able to function on standard VLSFO.

In conjunction with Hyundai Mipo and Maersk, MAN Energy Solutions, Hyundai Engine and Machinery (main engine), and Himsen (aux engine) will create the vessel's methanol propulsion configuration. According to Maersk, the American Bureau of Shipping will categorize the ship.

Ole Graa Jakobsen, Head of Fleet Technology at Maersk, acknowledged his satisfaction with the project's advancement. Despite the project's scope, he stated that they achieved not least because of excellent coordination inside Maersk and with their external partners.

Maersk has created new branding with a star appearing for the first time on the side of the vessel to signal that the vessel is the beginning of a new generation of green methanol fleet. The Senior Brand and Design Manager of Maersk, Brian Borup expressed that they looked at the best ways to communicate that the vessel represents the commencement of a new generation of green methanol feeders. In order to expand their already established brand platform and to draw attention to their decarbonization determination, they came up with the phrase “ALL THE WAY TO ZERO” as their tagline.

The Maersk’s new feeder will be 172 meters long and sail in Sealand Europe's network, a Maersk subsidiary, on the Baltic shipping route between Northern Europe and the Bay of Bothnia. The feeder will be followed by 18 substantial ocean-going ships with a TEU capacity of 16,000–17,200, which are expected to be delivered in 2024 and 2025.

Maersk has teamed up with REintegrate, a division of the Danish renewable energy firm European Energy, to manufacture green fuel for its first methanol-powered containerships. The plant is now being constructed by the renewable energy firm with the goal of producing the 10,000 tonnes of e-methanol that Maersk's carbon-neutral ship will need per year.

Maersk has entered into strategic collaborations with nine firms in 2022 with the aim of acquiring at least 750,000 tonnes of green fuel annually by the end of 2025 in order to assure the availability of green methanol for its newbuilds. Besides that, the corporation has held discussions to investigate potential locations for massive green fuel production in Egypt and Spain.

Source: Jasmina Ovcina Mandra, Offshore Energy, 2023