Maersk Unveils World’s Biggest Methanol-Powered Container Ship

Maersk christened the 16,000-teu Ane Maersk at a private ceremony today in the shipyard of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea.

The vessel was named after Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla, chair of the AP Moller Foundation and AP Moller Holding.

While many of the accolades will be for the vessel’s green credentials, the delivery symbolises a threat to the boxship sector with the onslaught of hundreds of newbuildings ordered during the boom years of the pandemic.

Those deliveries are racking up. In the first three weeks of the year, shipping lines received 204,000 teu of capacity from yards, according to Alphaliner estimates.

That amounts to more than one ship per day joining the global liner fleet.

While vessels such as the Ane Maersk grab the limelight, it is the Danish company’s 2M partner MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company that could have a bigger market impact.

The Geneva-based giant took in about 72,000 teu or 35.4% of all new capacity this year to 22 January, Alphaliner estimates.

Methanol, Ammonia and Hydrogen