Alexandra Maersk joins Maersk's dual-fuel methanol fleet

 Danish carrier Maersk celebrated the naming of its latest dual-fuel methanol container vessel Alexandra Maersk at the Port of Felixstowe, U.K. Alexandra Maersk is the sixth vessel in Maersk’s owned fleet being able to sail on methanol in its main and auxiliary engines. It is the fifth ship in a series of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025. Each can carry more than 16,000 TEUs, says an official release. "It’s great to see customers like Primark taking action and partner with us to decarbonise ocean transport," says Vincent Clerc, CEO, Maersk. "True progress in the green transformation requires collective effort. To accelerate the transformation, we need the International Maritime Organization help closing the price gap between green and fossil fuels to make the green choice the best choice for all.

Last week's IMO meeting on that matter was a step in the right direction, but much work remains in the coming months. We remain hopeful and continue to do all in our power to progress the green transition of shipping." Paul Marchant, CEO, Primark adds: "We are committed to reducing the impact we have on the environment across our entire operation, including our supply chain. Through our partnership with Maersk, we have started to introduce green fuel alternatives, such as biofuel, when shipping our products. By using Maersk’s ECO delivery ocean product and replacing fossil fuels with green fuel alternatives on Maersk’s cargo ships, we are reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our ocean shipping. This is a really important step for us at Primark as it supports our ambition to halve our carbon emissions across our value chain by 2030."

Maersk’s ECO delivery ocean is based on reduced GHG emission fuels like bio-diesel which is used on vessels across the Maersk fleet, and now also green methanol new vessels like Alexandra Maersk are capable of sailing on, the release added. The new methanol enabled ships are at the core of Maersk’s ambitious decarbonisation plans as low emission methanol can reduce the GHG emissions by 65-90 percent compared to conventional fossil fuels such as bunker oil (depending on the feedstock and production process of the methanol, calculated on a life cycle basis).