Hutchison Ports' Port of Felixstowe has welcomed the maiden call of the Laura Maersk, the first container ship in the world to complete a voyage powered by Green Methanol.

Commenting on its first call at the UK's largest container port, Clemence Cheng, executive director of Hutchison Ports and Port of Felixstowe CEO, tagged the moment as a "truly historic event."

"It is essential that the industry moves to decarbonise shipping, and this first call by an alternatively fuelled vessel complements  Hutchison Ports' commitment to achieve Net Zero for our UK operations by 2035," Cheng said.

"All our electricity already comes from certified renewable sources, and we are investing heavily in new electric trucks and yard cranes. By deploying the first of the 150 electric trucks we have in order to work on the Laura Maersk, we are able to demonstrate how zero-emission journeys through the port are possible," the Hutchison Ports and Port of Felixstowe CEO added.

Gary Jeffreys, Maersk's area managing director UK & Ireland, said: "We are very proud to have Laura Maersk in the UK. This innovative vessel is an important proof that the decarbonisation of supply chains is feasible. Laura Maersk is a game changer in a hard-to-abate industry."

"Combining low-emission landside transport solutions with the soon-to-be-delivered larger vessels running on green methanol will allow us to start offering green end-to-end solutions for our customers. This will be the first of many initiatives to get us to net zero," he added.

The 2,100 TEU vessel will operate on the company’s Baltic shipping route between Northern Europe and the Bay of Bothnia.