Maersk: More than 660K TEU transported by green fuels in 2023

Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller Maersk has revealed that more than 660,000 TEU were transported in 2023, saving over 683,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases from being emitted into the atmosphere.

As explained, the shipowner marked a strong growth of Maersk ECO Delivery Ocean products last year. 212 company’s clients opted for ECO Delivery Ocean for their seaborne cargo in 2023, with shippers from various sectors including retail, lifestyle, automotive and FMCG companies.

Specifically, Maersk defines ’green fuels’ as fuels with low (65-80%) to very low (80-95%) GHG emissions over their life cycle compared to fossil fuels. The fuels and the supply chain are verified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC).

“We have an ambitious goal to become a climate-neutral company by 2024. The 660,000 standard containers transported on green fuels in 2023 equal 3% of our global ocean transport volume and show that the low emission movement is taking large steps year-on-year. This is achieved thanks to an amazing effort together with our partners and vendors,” said Johan Sigsgaard, Executive Vice President of Maersk.

Maersk ECO Delivery Ocean product was developed back in 2017/2018 and introduced to the market from 2019. Some of the companies that signed up for the product include Nestlé, Inditex, Novo Nordisk, and others.

“Reaching net zero requires changing many aspects of how we source, make, and distribute our products. The agreements we’ve signed with Maersk will help reduce emissions and deliver immediate positive impacts on our carbon footprint,” Stephanie Hart, Global Head of Operations at Nestlé commented.

In a nutshell, Maersk’s eco solution replaces fossil fuels with green fuels such as biodiesel and green methanol.

According to the company, the biodiesel is solely sourced from waste streams and can lead to GHG emission reductions of above 80 percent on a well-to-wake basis.

With the deployment and naming of the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel in September 2023, Danish shipping giant introduced green methanol as a low-emission fuel in container shipping. A few months later, the world’s first large methanol-enabled container vessel was named in Ulsan, South Korea.

“In 2023, we continued expanding our global bio-diesel supply infrastructure to key bunkering hubs in Europe and Asia. We will continue to rely on biodiesel as a base in our green fuel portfolio while building up the supply of other green fuels such as green methanol, Maersk is investing in new methanol enabled vessels of which the first eight very large ships (16,000 TEU each) are entering Maersk’s fleet in 2024, with the first vessel, “Ane Maersk” already deployed. The green fuels for low and very low emission ocean transports used by us are all certified to ensure fully traceable, responsible feedstock and sourcing,” Emma Mazhari, Head of Energy Markets in Maersk’s Energy Transition department, said.

Maersk noted that, up to now, the green methanol’s GHG reduction lies still below the figures of bio-fuels, but with the start of the scalable production of e-methanol, the emission reductions should go up to above 90 percent once the processes are all optimized.

These significant GHG reductions of both fuel types take even emissions into account from procuring, producing, and transporting the ingredients and the green fuels – a so-called life cycle calculation, the shipowner concluded.