Naming ceremony for MeOH-fuelled Laura Maersk in Copenhagen

The vessel was christened by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who broke a champagne bottle over the bow. Besides President von der Leyen, Maersk Chair Robert Uggla and Maersk Chief Executive Officer Vincent Clerc also spoke at the ceremony.

The presence of the naming ceremony was significant both as a vindication of the shipping company’s decision to act as an early adopter of methanol, when it placed an order for the vessel in 2018, but also by acting as an example for the wider shipping industry of the practicality of fuelling container vessels on methanol.

However, the most significant aspect of the ceremony related to the type of methanol that will power the vessel. The Laura Maersk has operated on methanol for 90-95% of its voyage between China and Copenhagen using green methanol supplied by OCI Global. This has allowed the vessel to achieve a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with a comparable vessel, according to Leonardo Sonzio, Head of Fleet Management and Technology at Maersk. 

Once the long-term supplier of green methanol in Denmark begins production of e-methanol in the second half of 2024 and supplying the vessel, the Laura Maersk is expected to achieve a 95% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as measured on a well-to-wake basis. 

Although the supplier will not be able to supply the entire fleet with e-methanol, this reduction is expected to represent a significant step towards Maersk’s targets of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and transporting a minimum of 25% of ocean cargo using green fuels by 2030.

Operational experience

The operation of the Laura Maersk will help provide both Maersk and engine supplier MAN Energy Solutions with valuable operational experience of the service performance of its B&W 6G50ME-C9.6-LGIM main engine while operating on both bio-methanol and subsequently on e-methanol. 

While MAN has obtained extensive service experience of operating engines on methanol since 2016, the data is expected to be particularly useful for HiMSEN, which is seeing the first references of its two HiMSEN H32DF-LM and one HiMSEN 6H21M methanol-fuelled gensets on board the vessel.

The benefits are also expected to benefit Maersk itself, by providing valuable operational experience for the container line company before larger methanol-fuelled newbuildings begin to be delivered.

The first of its series of 16,000 teu methanol-fuelled container vessels will be delivered in January 2024, the first of 24 methanol-fuelled vessels of different capacities on order for delivery between 2024 and 2027. Maersk is also committed to retrofitting a number of its existing vessels to operate on methanol fuel, as previously reported by The Motorship.