Maersk orders 8 new tankers to speed up fleet decarbonisation

A.P. Moller-Maersk announced earlier this week the order of eight new tankers powered by carbon-neutral methanol, as it seeks to speed up its fleet’s decarbonisation initiative.

These vessels will be manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries and will have the capacity to carry 16,000 containers.

Every tanker will have a cost of about $175 million, which brings the total investment amount to nearly $1.4 billion. The shipping company will also have the option to order four additional such vessels.

As soon as the new vessels enter service in early 2024, they are expected to save 1 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, Maersk said.

According to the Danish company, almost half of its clients, including consumer giants such as Amazon, Unilever and H&M, have already set net zero targets for their operations.

“The time to act is now, if we are to solve shipping’s climate challenge. This order proves that carbon neutral solutions are available today across container vessel segments and that Maersk stands committed to the growing number of our customers who look to decarbonise their supply chains,” Soren Skou, the shipping giant’s Chief Executive Officer, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“Further, this is a firm signal to fuel producers that sizable market demand for the green fuels of the future is emerging at speed,” Skou added.

“Unilever is committed to accelerating the transition to clean transport solutions, not just in our own operations but along global value chains as we work to achieve net zero emissions by 2039,” Michelle Grose, head of logistics at Unilever, said in a statement.