Maersk to launch a carbon-neutral vessel by 2023, seven years ahead of schedule

On Wednesday, shipping giant Maersk said it will launch a carbon-neutral vessel by 2023, seven years ahead of schedule, as it aims to reduce its environmental footprint and reach a net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions target by 2050.

Also according to Danish group, the world’s largest container shipping company, the vessel will be fuelled either by carbon-neutral e-methanol or by sustainable bio-methanol, however, if possible, it will still be able to operate on normal very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO).

‘Carbon neutral’ means, in simple words, that CO2 emissions are offset by an equivalent amount of CO2 elimination. If anything is carbon negative, it means that more CO2 than is emitted is eliminated from the atmosphere.

In the future, all new Maersk-owned vessels will be able to operate on carbon neutral fuels, with the company announcing that “dual fuel engines will be installed on future new buildings.” The term “new building” refers to a ship that has been constructed or is under construction recently.

The head of decarbonization of Maersk explained how when it came to accelerating the creation of the methanol-fueled vessel, some aspects had “gone in the right direction.”

“We have learned a lot as a company about the opportunities that are there, technology has developed,” Morten Bo Christiansen said.

“And, last but not least, our customers are clearly expecting this from us, they need us to support them in decarbonizing their supply chains.”

Questioned how his business will supply enough carbon neutral fuels to fulfill its future needs, Christiansen said it was a “situation of chicken and egg.”

“There’s a lot of projects on the drawing board but not a lot of willing off-takers,” he said. “With this, we are trying to actually make a statement that we want to get this ball rolling, we want to get started on producing these fuels and actually putting them in the market so that the market can scale.”

Maersk, he explained, had a discussion on this subject with several partners, but it was not yet ready to name whom it was working with.

“But definitely … this will be the big challenge: to get sufficient supplies of properly carbon neutral fuels,” he added.