FIShipping giants such as CMA CGM and MSC are ordering large renewable methanol-powered cargo ships to compete. Maersk is the frontrunner: its world’s first container ship running on renewable methanol has already been launched. The fuel revolution is also spreading to tankers and passenger ships. This opens vast markets for environmentally friendly methanol producers.
Maritime transport is undergoing perhaps the most significant change in more than a hundred years, as it strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and abandon fossil fuels. A century ago, British warships were fueled by Winston Churchill’s decision to switch from coal to oil. This changed the entire mainstream of shipping.
Now, one of the most important developments in maritime transport is the spread of renewable methanol as an alternative fuel for cargo ships. The switch to bio methanol is part of the broader strategy by shipping companies to comply with international regulations aimed at reducing the industry’s carbon footprint.
From RoRo to Disney Cruiser
Shipbuilders from South Korea to Finland are capitalizing on this emerging methanol trend. Finnish company Wärtsilä has declared that it is equipping the world’s first methanol-powered hybrid RoRo vessels for Stena Line, set to operate between Belfast and Heysham. Additionally, Disney Cruise Line has revealed plans for its new cruiser, the Disney Adventure, which will in 2025 have a capacity of approximately 6,000 guests and will be outfitted to accommodate methanol fuel.
Maersk aș a forerunner
Leading the change in cargo shipping is Danish A.P. Moller – Maersk, which has ordered at least 25 methanol-fueled vessels for delivery in the near future. This move is in line with the company’s goal to carry at least 25 percent of its ocean cargo using green fuels by 2030. Maersk’s inaugural methanol-enabled container vessel has already been deployed. In September 2023, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen christened this pioneering ship as Laura Maersk.
Investing Billions of Dollars
France’s CMA CGM, another shipping giant, has also been active in introducing alternative fuels. It has ordered LNG-powered vessels that can run on renewable/e-methane and has ordered vessels that can run on renewable/e-methanol. Like Maersk, CMA CGM has ordered a couple of dozen methanol-powered ships. The latest order for eight new methanol-powered container ships alone is worth a billion dollars.
Moreover, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has reportedly invested $1.2 billion in methanol-ready boxships. Chinese COSCO Shipping Holdings, not to be left behind, has ordered 12 methanol-powered 24,000 TEU ships, with a contract worth nearly $2.9 billion, to be delivered from the third quarter of 2026.
Other renewable fuels, too
The news about shipping companies’ renewable methanol investments in operating ships supports Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub’s analysis that the industry is becoming more environmentally friendly by leaps and bounds. According to Lloyds, liquefied renewable methane is predicted to account for approximately 35 percent of all marine fuels by 2050. Ammonia also has its own significant contribution. At the same time, the report states that methanol’s market share will reach about 15 percent of the market share of shipping fuels by 2050. In the light of investment news, the position of renewable methanol in the future may be more significant than predicted. The orders for methanol vessels also indicate that confidence in methanol has increased.
New Strategic Alliances
The transition to alternative fuels such as renewable methanol offers the transport industry both opportunities and challenges. Stakeholders in the supply chain should therefore take an active role in shaping multi-fuel strategies and speeding up investments through strategic partnerships and other collaborations. Securing the future and the transition to more environmentally friendly fuels in shipping requires further clarification of fuel delivery systems and dynamics, harmonization of ship design and cooperation between sectors.
Towards a Sustainable Future
The transition to renewable methanol and other alternative fuels represents the shipping industry’s response to environmental problems and regulatory pressures. With major shipping companies such as Maersk, CMA CGM, MSC and COSCO taking the lead, the industry is turning its course towards a more sustainable future. As this transition accelerates, it is expected that more and more cargo and passenger ships will use renewable methanol and other green fuels. It promotes the global effort to be more and more environmentally friendly in other energy production as well and contributes to increasing green energy investments. Because someone has to produce the renewable methanol used by the ships – in an environmentally friendly way.
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