A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) has made an order for six mid-sized container vessels – all having dual-fuel engines able to operate on green1 methanol. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group will build the six 9,000 TEU vessels delivered in 2026 and 2027.

“With this order, we take another step in the green transformation of our fleet and towards our target of becoming net-zero in 2040. As with all our other vessel orders for the last two years, these ships will be able to run on green methanol,” says Rabab Boulos, Chief Infrastructure Officer at Maersk.

In 2021, Maersk ordered the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel following a commitment to only ordering newbuilt ships that can sail on green fuels. Two years later, the global order book has more than 100 methanol-enabled vessels.

By ordering additional six vessels, Maersk now has 25 methanol-enabled ships on order.

“For these six container vessels, we have chosen a design and vessel size which make them very flexible from a deployment point of view. This will allow these vessels to fill many functions in our current and future networks, offering the flexibility our customers demand. Once phased in, they will replace existing capacity in our fleet,” says Rabab Boulos.

Later this summer, the first methanol-enabled vessel, a 2,100 TEU feeder vessel, will be delivered to Maersk.

About the six new vessels

They have a capacity of 9,000 containers (Twenty Foot Equivalent – TEU)

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group will build the six boats in China

The ships will be delivered from 2026 and with the last delivery in March 2027

All of them have dual-fuel engines making them able to operate on both fuel oil and methanol

Upon delivery, the vessels will replace the existing capacity in the Maersk fleet

Replacing ships in a similar size segment, the new vessels will reduce Maersk’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 450,000 tons of CO2e per year on a fuel lifecycle basis when operating on green methanol.