8 September 2023 (Lloyd's List) - AP MOLLER-Maersk has confirmed that it has tied up an agreement with Norwegian energy company Equinor to supply green methanol for the world’s first containership capable of operating on the alternative fuel. The pioneering 2,100 teu Laura Maersk (IMO: 9944546) is set to enter service later this month following a naming ceremony in Copenhagen on September 14.
Since Maersk ordered the trailblazing ship from South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in 2021, a further 120 dual-fuel methanol containerships have been ordered, according to data tracked by Lloyd’s List. A further 26 existing boxships are due to be retrofitted to enable methanol-fuelled propulsion.
As such, demand for the green fuel will rise considerably as deliveries of dual-fuel methanol boxships start to gather pace from the second half of next year.
The contract with Equinor will provide green methanol supply for the vessel from its entry into service in a northern Europe to Baltic feeder service, with regular bunkering in Rotterdam into the first half of 2024. In the longer term, Laura Maersk will be fuelled by e-methanol from a plant in Denmark, operated by European Energy. Maersk said it expected this to come on-stream in the first half of 2024.
“We are very pleased to partner with Equinor as it’s entering this business area,” said Maersk chief infrastructure officer Rabab Boulos. “It is critical to get energy majors to the table and start supplying future fuels at scale. This is the form of engagement we need to continue accelerating the pioneering journey towards a green fuel economy for global shipping.”
Equinor’s green methanol will be produced from biogas from manure, according to Maersk, with the biogas upgraded to biomethane and then injected into the existing gas grid.
Maersk said the existing European biogas certificate system is used to trace the attributes of the biomethane to the biomethanol and safeguard against double claims. This way, green methanol can be made with existing infrastructure and facilities so it can be brought to market faster.
Alex Grant, senior vice president for the liquid commodity segment at Equinor, said his company was already established in the European methanol market through its production plant at Tjeldbergodden. “We have ambitions to be a key provider of green methanol in the marine fuel segment,” he said.
Besides Laura Maersk, the world’s second-largest boxship operator has six ships of 9,000 teu and 16 ultra-large containerships 16,000-17,000 teu on order, all specified to run on methanol.
