The Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) announce today that they will retrofit an existing ship to a dual-fuel methanol powered vessel and thereby able to sail on green methanol.
Maersk inform they has signed an agreement with MAN Energy Solutions (MAN ES) who will retrofit the engine.
The company state that this first engine retrofit in the industry is scheduled to be conducted medio 2024 and it is the intent to replicate on sister vessels when going for special survey in 2027.
Leonardo Sonzio, Head of Fleet Management and Technology at Maersk say that “we have set an ambitious net-zero emissions target for 2040 across the entire business and have taken a leading role in decarbonising logistics. Retrofitting of engines to run on methanol is an important lever in our strategy. With this initiative, we wish to pave the way for future scalable retrofit programs in the industry and thereby accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to green fuels. Ultimately, we want to demonstrate that methanol retrofits can be a viable alternative to newbuildings.”
Furthermore he comment that “In 2021, we ordered the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel following a commitment to the principle of only ordering newbuilt vessels that can sail on green fuels. Concurrently, we have explored the potential in retrofitting existing vessels with dual-fuel methanol engines. Having teamed up with MAN ES, we are now ready to demonstrate how retrofitting vessels with methanol dual-fuel capabilities can be done.”
Maersk inform that they currently is operating more than 700 vessels with around 300 of them being owned by Maersk themselves.
