Asia/Pacific News
Maersk's New Dual-Fuel Vessel Can Sail 23,000 Nautical Miles on Methanol
AP Moller Maersk is steadily advancing towards its goal of deploying 19 dual-fuel methanol container vessels by year-end, with the recent delivery of its 11th ship—capable of sailing 23,000 nautical miles on pure methanol.
The dual-fuel vessel Albert Maersk was officially named during a ceremony at APM Terminals Mumbai, India, Maersk said in a statement on its website.
The 16,572 TEU capacity vessel is equipped with dual-fuel engine from MAN Energy Solutions.
Methanol has a lower energy density than traditional marine fuels. As per the Methanol Institute, MGO has an energy density of 36.6 GJ/m3, whereas methanol stands at just 15.8 GJ/m3.
As a result, a vessel running on methanol would need to carry roughly 2.4 times more fuel than an MGO-powered ship to achieve the same energy output for a voyage.
To accommodate this, Maersk's vessel is equipped with two tanks capable of holding up to 16,000 m3 of methanol, allowing it to sail up to 23,000 nautical miles (41,400 km) on pure methanol. The tanks are positioned forward of the engine room.
The Albert Maersk is one of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea's Ulsan.
It has now set sail to Salalah in Oman.
