AP Moller - Maersk successfully placed a €500 million (US$559 million) green bond issue to fund its new, green methanol-powered vessels. 

The 10-year bond, with a coupon of 0.75% — which Maersk said is the lowest annual interest ever for Maersk — fetched orders worth €3.7 billion (US$4.14 billion).

The launch of the green bond is part of Maersk's Green Finance Framework designed to allow the company to issue a variety of sustainable financing instruments which may include bonds, loans, project finance and other instruments.

Maersk said in a statement that the proceeds will be used to fund the build of its first feeder vessel and the ground-breaking series of eight large ocean-going container vessels which will be capable of operating on carbon neutral methanol by 2023 and 2024.

"Issuing Green Financing Instruments is a further step to integrating sustainability into our financing operations as it is an effective tool for channelling investments to projects with positive environmental impact and thereby contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement," said Patrick Jany, CFO of Maersk.

"With this green bond, we aim at diversifying our investor base by reaching out to new investors and increasing the transparency of our ESG ambitions and performance even further towards our stakeholders," Jany added.