In October 2019 the Danish company identified 3 fuels to focus on in its decarbonisation drive, namely renewable methanol, biogas and ammonia.
Soren Skou commented:
- The European Commission is proposing to end production of combustion engine cars in 2035
- The IMO should do the same for fossil fuelled ships with ambitious targets and measures to decarbonise shipping
- Combined, a global carbon tax and an end for fossil fuelled ships would be a strong signal to the shipping ecosystem – including yards and producers – about which way the wind is blowing
- We need to accelerate efforts to meeting global emission reduction targets
Just a few weeks ago, Maersk ordered 8 large ships that can run on green methanol.
Container ships should be ready for use by 2024.
Each has a capacity of around 16,000 containers and would then make up a good 3% of the fleet.
With the South Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries, Maersk also secured a contract option for 4 more bio-methanol-powered container ships starting in 2025.
According to the shipping company, the new ships can reduce annual CO2 emissions by around 1 million tons.