Maersk Signs Green Methanol Bunker Deal With Equinor

The vessel is currently on its way from its shipyard in Ulsan to a naming ceremony in Copenhagen later this month. Image Credit: AP Moller-Maersk

Container line AP Moller-Maersk has signed a deal with Norwegian energy producer Equinor to supply fuel for its first methanol-powered ship.

The two companies have signed an agreement providing green methanol supply for the new feeder vessel for its first few months of operation into the first half of next year, Maersk said in a statement on its website on Friday.

The vessel is currently on its way from its shipyard in Ulsan to a naming ceremony in Copenhagen later this month. It will operate between Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea.

The methanol for the deal will be produced using a mass-balancing approach, whereby biogas will be produced from manure and injected into the local grid, and its green credentials will be attributed to the gas eventually used to produce the methanol.

"We are very pleased to partner with Equinor, as it's entering this business area," Rabab Boulos, chief infrastructure officer at Maersk, said in the statement.

"It is critical to get energy majors to the table and start supplying future fuels at scale.

"This is the form of engagement we need to continue accelerating the pioneering journey towards a green fuel economy for global shipping.

"With more than 100 methanol enabled vessels on order across the industry, the demand for green fuel production is rising and will continue to do so in the years to come."

In the longer term, the vessel will be supplied with synthetic methanol from a plant operated by European Energy in Denmark. That plant is due to come online in the first half of next year.