Danish shipping firm AP Moller-Maersk has ordered and chartered contracts for 800,000 TEU of dual-fuel capacity vessels as part of its fleet renewal plans and to meet decarbonisation goals.
The contracts will be split between 300,000 TEU and 500,000 TEU of dual-fuel capacity, with the former being owned by Maersk and the latter planned through time-charter agreements.
The new order covers 50-60 newbuilds, which can run on methanol and bio-methane (bio-LNG), and will meet Maersk's planned renewal pace of around 160,000 TEU per year, ensuring a steady flow of needed capacity for its network over 2026-2030.
But "these orders will not add to the [company's] overall capacity, and over time every vessel coming in will be replacing a scrapped vessel having reached end of life, ensuring that we maintain our fleet size at around 4.3 mn TEU," said Ahmed Hassan, head of asset strategy and strategic partnerships at Maersk.
Part of Maersk's strategy for its tonnage stems from the need to have fleets with multi-fuel capability. The current fleet renewal plan will include vessels with a mix of methanol and liquified gas dual-fuel propulsion systems. The exact split of propulsion technologies will be determined considering the future regulatory framework and the supply of green fuels.
Green methanol is expected to be a scalable decarbonisation pathway in the short term, but liquified bio-methane (bio-LNG) is seen as a fuel that is likely to be a more viable option in the longer term. Maersk has started working with suppliers on off-take agreements to secure bio-LNG molecules to meet the new fleet's fuel needs.
The company has also championed the use of methanol as a marine fuel with 25 owned dual-fuel methanol vessels in its order books. Of this, five are in service and 20 are on order, providing around 350,000 TEU of capacity.
