A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) has made an order for six mid-sized container vessels — all having dual-fuel engines able to operate on green methanol. 

China's Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group will build the six 9,000 TEU vessels, which will be delivered in 2026 and 2027.

 [Photo: A.P Moller-Maersk]

"With this order, we take another step in the green transformation of our fleet and towards our target of becoming net-zero in 2040. As with all our other vessel orders for the last two years, these ships will be able to run on green methanol," said Rabab Boulos, chief infrastructure officer at Maersk.

In 2021, Maersk ordered the world's first methanol-enabled container vessel following a commitment to the principle of only ordering new-built vessels that can sail on green fuels. 

Just two years later, the global order book stands at more than 100 methanol-enabled vessels.

Orderbook hits 25 vessels 

By ordering additional six vessels, Maersk said it now has 25 methanol-enabled vessels on order.

"For these six container vessels, we have chosen a design and vessel size which make them very flexible from a deployment point of view. This will allow these vessels to fill many functions in both our current and our future network, thereby offering the flexibility our customer's demand. Once phased in, they will replace existing capacity in our fleet," Boulos added.

Later this summer, the first methanol-enabled vessel, a 2,100 TEU feeder vessel, will be delivered to Maersk.

Maersk said the six new methanol-powered vessels would have a capacity of 9,000 containers (Twenty Foot Equivalent - TEU), and all of them have dual-fuel engines making them able to operate on both fuel oil and methanol.

Upon delivery, the vessels will replace the existing capacity in the Maersk fleet.

Maersk noted that by replacing vessels in a similar size segment, the new vessels would reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 450,000 tons of CO2e per year on a fuel lifecycle basis when operating on green methanol.