AP Moller-Maersk A/S declared a “breakthrough” for global shipping as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen led the naming ceremony for the company’s green methanol container ship on Thursday danish
The 2,100-metre twenty-foot-equivalent feeder ship was named “Laura Maersk” at a ceremony in Copenhagen harbor “when the ship’s godmother, President von der Leyen, christened the ship by breaking a bottle of champagne in the bow”. the giant said in a press release.
Maersk says the vessel built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyards Co. Ltd. it is the first in the world that works with bio-methanol. The Laura had already been successfully refitted for the first time more than a month ago in Singapore, according to a press release from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore on July 27.
“This ship, at this moment, embodies Europe’s decision to be a pioneer in the fight against climate change,” von der Leyen said at the ceremony, according to a transcript on the European Commission’s website. “We are turning a noble generational task into a new growth strategy. On this journey, only the horizon is our limit. I am confident because we know that our destiny and our sailboats together are on a clear path.”
The Laura is a key step towards Maersk’s plan to sail entirely on green fuels as part of its goal to be carbon neutral by 2040, the company said in the statement. Maersk had sold its oil production business to TotalEnergies SE. Maersk Oil had about one billion barrels of oil equivalent reserves then, according to a press release from TotalEnergies on March 8, 2015 announcing the completion of the $7.45 billion acquisition signed in 2017.
Moving closer to its goal of carrying at least 25 percent of its ocean cargo capacity with green fuels by 2030, based on a 2020 baseline, Maersk has ordered 24 more methanol vessels for delivery between 2024 and 2027 and has established “a policy to order only new, owned vessels that come with a green fuel option,” Thursday’s announcement said.
Maersk defines green fuels as those with a 65-95% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions relative to fossil fuels, above the 60% minimum that the European Union has set for biofuels in Directive 2009/30/EC of April 23, 2009.
“Laura Maersk is a historic milestone for shipping worldwide,” Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said in a statement. “It shows the entrepreneurial spirit that has characterized Maersk since the company’s founding. However, more importantly, this ship is a very real test point that when we come together as an industry through endeavours and determined partnerships, a tangible and optimistic path to a sustainable future emerges.”
Maersk announced the signing of the Laura construction contract with the South Korean builder on July 1, 2021. In August of that year, Maersk announced that it had sealed a partnership with Danish company European Energy A/S for the long term supply of the ship. green methanol “Reintegrate [a European Energy subsidiary] and European Energy will establish a new Danish facility to produce approx. 10,000 tonnes of carbon-neutral e-methanol that Maersk’s first ship capable of operating on green e-methanol will consume annually,” he said on August 19, 2021.
Maersk announced on 13 June 2023 that it had found the first supplier of Laura’s bio-methanol in OCI Global, which produces its green methanol in the US using biogas captured from decomposing organic waste.
“The biogas is upgraded to biomethane and injected into the gas network and methanol is produced from the biomethane in the network on a mass balance basis,” Maersk explained. “In this way, green methanol can be produced in existing facilities using existing infrastructure and plants that allow rapid production. The method can contribute to a greener gas grid while capturing harmful methane emissions that would arise from the raw material of waste if not touched”.
Earlier this month it announced a deal with Equinor ASA to supply fuel for its next voyage, produced from manure. “It is critical to bring the energy majors to the table and start delivering future fuels at scale,” said Rabab Boulos, Maersk’s director of infrastructure, in a statement on the deal announced on September 8. “This is the kind of commitment we need to continue accelerating the pioneering journey towards a green fuel economy for global shipping.
“With more than 100 methanol vessels on order across the industry, demand for green fuel production is increasing and will continue to do so for years to come.”
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