Danish Shipping: Over 80% of new ship tonnage to sail on green fuels

More than half of new vessels currently being built for Danish shipping companies will be able to sail on green fuels, trade and employer association Danish Shipping said.

Danish shipping companies currently have 67 new ships in the order book, which will be delivered from shipyards around the world in the coming years. This increases the number of Danish vessels in the order books for the third year in a row.

Of these ships, 35 or just over 52% will be sailing on green fuels.

The ordered tonnage has increased by 7% compared to the same time last year, and if one looks at the ships’ tonnage, the green development appears even more clearly. Over 80% of the new tonnage can sail on green fuels.

Danish shipping companies have been placing orders for new ships in many different ship segments. There majority of them are containerships but tugboats also fill up well, according to the association.

“The Danish shipping companies have really signed up to the green transition. It is a very significant development when more than 80% of the new tonnage that is on the way is on ships that can sail on green fuels. The new ships will also replace older and less energy efficient ships, so this is a very welcome development,” Jacob K. Clasen, CEO of Danske Rederier, said.

Earlier this year, Denmark-based container shipping major AP Møller-Mærsk commissioned the world’s first container ship, Laura Mærsk, which can sail on green e-methanol.

What is more, Maersk readies to take delivery of its first large methanol-fueled boxship. The container vessel being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea has a nominal capacity of 16,000 containers (TEU) and is equipped with a dual-fuel engine enabling operations on methanol as well as biodiesel and conventional bunker fuel. It was launched in October 2023. At the time of deployment, it will be the second container vessel in the world that can sail on green methanol, the first being the feeder vessel Laura Maersk.

Among Danish green vessels is also the service operation vessel (SOV) which ESVAGT and Ørsted expect to receive in 2024. It will be the world’s first of its kind that can sail on green fuels. 

“We are extremely busy, not least with servicing offshore wind turbines, so we are very much looking forward to receiving our new SOV from the yard next year. We need it. And then there is also a wonderful feeling that the ring will be closed when the ships that contribute to setting up more green energy can in the near future themselves sail on green fuels. Then we really start to make some progress,” Peter Lytzen, CEO of ESVAGT, commented.

Denmark at COP28

Earlier this month, Danish Shipping took center stage at the Danish Pavilion at COP28 in Dubai. The Crown Prince Frederik opened the event, where State of Green, a green brand for Denmark, launched its new white paper which aims to inspire companies, organizations and governments across the globe to accelerate the dec­ar­bo­ni­za­tion of shipping. 

“Denmark is at the forefront of the green transition of shipping, and I hope we can inspire many of the other maritime nations present in Dubai to follow the same course,” Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping, said at the event.

“It’s very positive – and also quite appropriate – that the shipping industry is in focus at COP 28. Our industry is responsible for three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, so we have an enormous responsibility to ensure that the future of shipping is green. We can and must deliver on the IMO-agreement to achieve climate neutral shipping by 2050.” 

“To achieve the ambitious goal of climate neutral global shipping in 2050, the global shipping industry will need vast amounts of green fuels. Our demand for these fuels will help create and drive a viable market for new, green fuels to the benefit of everyone. I therefore believe that global shipping can help unlock the global potential for offshore wind, Power-to-X, CCUS and green fuels,” Anne H. Steffensen concluded.

During COP28, Maersk, together with a group of other container shipping companies, signed a declaration calling for concrete regulatory measures needed to accelerate the industry’s green transition. On the same day, the Danish government announced that Denmark and the USA will join forces with the Maersk McKinney Møller Center for Zero CarbonShipping to finance and execute pre-feasibility studies of green corridors in the Global South– shipping routes where ships can bunker green fuels.