Maersk, Shanghai Port Sign Green Methanol Bunkering Agreement

Henry Huang, Marketing Director of SIPG and Jens Eskelund, Chief Representative, North Asia, A.P. Moller-Maersk sign the MOU on behalf of the company (front ); Alex Yan, President of SIPG, Jinshan Gu, Chairman of SIPG, Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk, Ditlev Blicher, President, Maersk Asia Pacific witness the signing ceremony. Image Credit: Maersk.

A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) has announced it has signed a deal with Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) that will see the pair working together to achieve vessel-to-vessel bunkering of green methanol at the port.

As industry stakeholders look to move away from traditional oil bunkers to meet future decarbonization goals, Maersk has been a leader in its backing of methanol as marine fuel.

It currently has 19 methanol dual-fuel vessels on order with delivery starting from next year.

"Collaborating with ports globally to build green fuel bunkering infrastructures is necessary to service methanol vessels," noted Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk.

"Through joint efforts, we can provide low-carbon logistics service for our customers, also contributing to China's pledge to be carbon neutral by 2060."

With over 47 million TEUs of containers handled in 2022, Shanghai has been the world's busiest container port for over a decade.

Its joint agreement with Maersk also serves Shanghai Port's self-proclaimed aspiration to become one of the world's first commercial green methanol refuelling points, and as a regional green methanol fuel bunkering centre.

"As the demand for sustainable fuels increase, establishing the green fuel bunkering service will be another milestone for SIPG, improving port services and enhancing the competitiveness of Shanghai port, in a bid to transform the company into a low-carbon and eco-friendly energy hub in Asia Pacific," said Mr. Gu Jinshan, Chairman, Shanghai International Port Group.