dpa
Copenhagen
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has christened the world’s first container ship to run on green methanol.
The ship, owned by the Danish shipping company Maersk, was named the Laura Maersk in Copenhagen on Thursday.
The name recalls the company’s first steamship, which Captain Peter Maersk Møller named Laura, at the end of the 19th century.
“Pioneers like you are shaping the economy of the future,” von der Leyen said at the port ceremony. Green methanol is a fuel produced using renewable energy, rather than fossil fuels.
“This event is a big deal, not only for Europe, but for the whole world,” the EU commission president said. “As you sail the waters of the world may your journeys be smooth and your tasks successful,” she declared, pressing a button that released a champagne bottle which smashed on the bow of the ship.
According to the shipping company, the 172-metre-long Laura Maersk - spelled “Mærsk” in the original Danish - is the world’s first methanol-powered container ship.
It was manufactured in South Korea, and can travel about 11,000 kilometres on one tank of green methanol.
Maersk, one of the two shipping industry giants, has ordered a total of 25 methanol-capable ships to date.
Today, the international shipping industry is responsible for about 3 percent of global CO2 emissions - that is more than the entire output of Germany. Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc described the event as a shipping milestone.
Today’s large ships are fuelled by heavy bunker oil or marine diesel, with a few running on liquefied gas - all of them fossil fuels generating CO2.
The International Maritime Organization agreed in July to cut emissions to zero or near-zero by 2050, but green fuels are in short supply. The production of green methanol requires large quantities of electricity generated by renewables.
Expanding green fuels is the next major challenge, Maersk supervisory board chairman Robert Uggla said. By 2030, Maersk would need an estimated 5 million tonnes of green methanol a year, by comparison with current production of less than 100,000 tonnes. The Laura Maersk is intended as a pioneer in a shipping revolution. Today more than 170 ships are being built or refitted to be able to use green methanol, including freighters, cruise ships, tankers and ferries.
“Hopefully this is the start of a green revolution in our global supply chains,” Uggla said. While the Laura Maersk was relatively small, its significance was much greater than its actual dimensions, he added.
