A.P. Moller-Maersk celebrates naming ceremony for newest dual-fuel methanol containership 'Alexandra Maersk'

Recently, A.P. Moller-Maersk has held a grand naming ceremony for its latest dual-fuel methanol container ship, Alexandra Maersk, at the Port of Felixstowe, England. The event was witnessed by UK Maritime Minister Michael Kane, representatives of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), customers and Maersk employees. Primark's director of human resources and culture, Elaine Condon, as the godmother of the vessel, symbolizes the close logistics and sustainability partnership between Maersk and its customer Primark.

Image source : maersk official website

The 'Alexandra Maersk' is the sixth vessel in Maersk's Owned capable of using methanol as primary and auxiliary fuel and the fifth of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025. Each vessel has a container capacity of more than 16,000 equivalent equivalent containers (TEU).

Speaking at the ceremony, UK Maritime Minister Mike Kane said: "It was a privilege to participate in the naming ceremony of 'Alexandra Maersk'. This is one of the first containerships to use green methanol and is exactly the innovation we need to achieve a greener and cleaner maritime industry that is good for people and the planet. Providing greener transport is one of our top priorities, and we will achieve this by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and investing in alternative fuels and technologies. ”

Paul Marchant, CEO of Primark, also spoke at the ceremony: "We are committed to reducing our environmental impact throughout our operations, including our supply chain. Through our partnership with Maersk, we are beginning to introduce green fuel alternatives, such as biofuels, for transporting our products. Using Maersk's ECO Delivery Ocean products and replacing fossil fuels with green fuels on Maersk's cargo ships, we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions in maritime transportation. This is a very important step for us at Primark as it supports our goal of halving our carbon emissions by 2030. ”

Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said: "It is gratifying to see customers like Primark take action and partner with us to decarbonise maritime transport. Real progress in the green transition requires a collective effort. To accelerate the transition, we need the IMO to help close the price gap between green and fossil fuels, making green options the best option for all. Last week's IMO meeting took the right step in this direction, but there is still a lot of work to be done in the coming months. We remain hopeful and continue to do everything we can to advance shipping's green transition. ”

The new methanol-powered vessel is at the heart of Maersk's ambitious decarbonization plan, as low-emission methanol can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% to 90% compared to traditional fossil fuels such as fuel oil (depending on the feedstock and production process of methanol, on a life cycle basis).

In line with Maersk's tradition of naming ships after members of the founding family, "Alexandra Maersk" is named A.P. Moller-Maersk founder A.P. Named after Moller's sister Alexandra Maersk-Moller (1868-1953).

Maersk has set an ambitious target of reaching net zero emissions by 2040, which has been tested and approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (STBi). Fuels that reduce greenhouse gas emissions are key to achieving this goal. The specific emission reduction effect of green methanol depends on the production process and the transportation mode of raw materials and produced methanol. Methanol made from biological raw materials can achieve about 65-70% greenhouse gas emission reduction compared to traditional fossil fuels on a life cycle basis, while synthetically produced green methanol, the so-called e-methanol, aims to achieve up to 90% greenhouse gas emission reduction.