Maersk Line has christened its first 16,000-TEU dual-fuel methanol container ship, and it will be known as the Ane Maersk.
The vessel is named after Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla, chair of A.P. Moller Holding and the A.P. Moller Foundation, the controlling shareholder in A.P. Moller Maersk. Until 2022 she was vice-chair of A.P. Moller Maersk, but has passed her responsibilities at the firm to her son Robert, the current chairman.
The new class of ships represents a new direction for Maersk, and a bold one. Ane Maersk is the world's second methanol-fueled boxship, after the smaller Laura Maersk, which was delivered last year. The larger vessel class has an unusual design for a boxship of this size, with a narrow deckhouse placed far forward and a funnel on the port quarter, maximizing deck space.
?Ane Maersk will deploy next month on the AE7 service string from Asia to Europe. The ship can run on either methanol or bunker fuel as needed, and Maersk said that she will begin her voyage on a "green" methanol fuel (meeting Maersk's specification for "green").
Maersk said that it continues its work to source supplies of low-carbon methanol for 2024-25; the supply chain for this fuel does not yet exist at scale, and Maersk is building it from the ground up with in-house clean fuel investments and partnerships. It will need fuel for 17 more "methanol-enabled" vessels of Ane Maersk's size.
"[Ane Maersk] is a visual and operational proof of our commitment to a more sustainable industry. With Ane Mærsk and her sister vessels we are expanding our offer to the growing number of businesses aiming to reduce emissions from their supply chains,” says Vincent Clerc, Chief Executive Officer of A.P. Moller-Maersk.
Maersk has inspired other carriers to invest in methanol-capable or methanol-ready tonnage. Last year, methanol was the most-ordered option for dual-fuel propulsion, exceeding LNG, according to DNV.
