6 June (Lloyd's List) -EUROPEAN Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will name the first ever containership capable of operating on methanol, the vessel’s owner Maersk has confirmed.

Von der Leyen will be godmother to the 2,100 teu feeder boxship, which was ordered in July 2021, at a ceremony near Maersk’s headquarters in Copenhagen in September following its arrival from South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.

Maersk’s newbuilding will enter service in the Baltic feeder trades and is considered as something of a prototype vessel for the company’s more ambitious plans to introduce a new series of 16,000 teu, dual-fuel methanol ships to service in the Asia-Europe trades next year, 18 of which were ordered in late 2021 and during 2022.

“The vessel will provide real operational experience for Maersk seafarers handling the new engines and using green methanol as fuel, as the company prepares to receive a fleet of new, large ocean-going methanol engine powered ships from 2024,” said Maersk. 

The newbuilding is expected to use green methanol with effect from early 2024, following a supply deal in Denmark with European Energy. 

Maersk said that to meet its 2040 target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions in time, the company aims to transport a minimum of 25% of cargo using green fuels by 2030, when compared to 2020.

“Just a few years ago, this iconic ship was merely a vision. Now, it is a reality, and we are honoured that Ursula von der Leyen has agreed to be its godmother. The European Commission, and especially its president, have been instrumental in steering the European continent towards an ambitious, green future. Our new vessel serves as a concrete example of the transformations that EU policies are supporting.”

The European Union has been a key driver in the push for green marine fuels by setting targets to push fuel producers to increase production and has increased efforts in sending the necessary demand signals. At the same time, it has set specific requirements for renewable fuel production and produced a number of directives on the matter.

It has also adopted rules to ensure member states can only import green fuels produced with biogenic and sustainable carbon. Nevertheless, industry insiders and fuel suppliers have raised concerns that parts of the EU’s guidelines could be counterproductive for the production of non-fossil fuels.

Since Maersk ordered the first containership capable of operating on methanol as fuel almost two years ago, boxship operators CMA CGM, COSCO, HMM and X-Press Feeders have all placed orders for dual-fuel methanol newbuildings.

Taiwan’s Evergreen was understood to have put out a tender in May for up to 24 methanol neo-panamax boxships, which could lead to a firm orders by the end of this year. The first ship to operate its main engines on methanol fuel was the ro-pax ferry Stena Germanica (IMO: 9145176), which has been using grey methanol since it was retrofitted in 2015.