On 9 October, A.P. Moller – Maersk named its latest dual-fuel methanol container vessel “Alexandra Maersk”.

UK’s Maritime Minister Mike Kane, representatives of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), customers and Maersk employees joined the festive event at the Port of Felixstowe in the United Kingdom. Elaine Condon, Director of People & Culture at Primark, is the godmother of the ship, representing the close logistics and sustainability partnership between Maersk and its customer Primark.

“Alexandra Maersk” is the sixth vessel in the Danish company’s owned fleet being able to sail on methanol in its main and auxiliary engines. It is the fifth ship in a series of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025. Each can carry more than 16,000 TEUs.

Mike Kane, UK’s Maritime Minister, said, “This is exactly the kind of innovation we need to deliver a greener, cleaner maritime sector which is better for people and for our planet. Delivering greener transport is one of our top priorities and we will do so by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and investing in alternative fuels and technologies.”

Maersk’s ECO Delivery Ocean is based on reduced GHG emission fuels like bio-diesel which is used on vessels across the Maersk fleet, and now also green methanol which Maersk’s newest vessels like “Alexandra Maersk” are capable of sailing on.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, commented, “It’s great to see customers like Primark taking action and partner with us to decarbonise ocean transport. True progress in the green transformation requires collective effort. To accelerate the transformation, we need the International Maritime Organization help closing the price gap between green and fossil fuels to make the green choice the best choice for all. Last week, IMO meeting on that matter was a step in the right direction, but much work remains in the coming months.”

The new methanol-enabled ships are at the core of Maersk’s ambitious decarbonisation plans as low-emission methanol can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 65% to 90% compared to conventional fossil fuels such as bunker oil (depending on the feedstock and production process of the methanol, calculated on a life cycle basis).

Following the tradition of naming Maersk vessels after members of the founding family, “Alexandra Maersk” is named after Alexandra Mærsk-Møller (1868-1953) who was an older sister of A.P. Møller, the founder of the Danish shipping company.

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