World’s 1st green methanol-powered containership docks in Egypt

The world’s first containership powered by green methanol has reached East Port Said, Egypt, its third bunkering stop on its maiden journey from Ulsan, South Korea to Copenhagen, Denmark.

The ship, owned by industry major Maersk, arrived at the port on Tuesday, August 15, the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) said.

Maersk also shared footage of the vessel transiting the Suez Canal, the world’s fastest maritime crossing.

The 2,100 TEU feeder was built by South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and delivered in July.

The 172-meter long ship runs on MAN Energy Solutions’ G50 or G95 dual-fuel engine capable of running on green methanol or conventional fuel.

Maersk has secured green methanol for the ship’s full maiden voyage from OCI Global, a Dutch-based green methanol producer.

The ship received its inaugural fueling at the Port of Ulsan, South Korea on July 16, and made a stop in Singapore on July 27, where it received another batch of green methanol via Hong Lam Marine’s tanker MT Agility.

The operation marked the world’s first ship-to-containership methanol bunkering operation, serving also as a breakthrough for Singapore in its multi-fuel journey, as it was the city-state’s first methanol bunkering operation.

The ship is set to receive a new batch of fuel in Egypt and, finally Rotterdam, before reaching Copenhagen where it will be christened in September.

The ship’s godmother will be the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The two bunkering operations will include ship-to-ship bunkering operations enabling the vessel to make the entire maiden voyage from Ulsan to Copenhagen fuelled by green methanol.

Maersk currently has 25 dual-fuel vessels on order ranging from 2,000 TEU container capacity to 16,000 TEU. The firm expects that the full fleet of green fuel-powered vessels will be delivered and operational by 2027. 

To meet the 2040 target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in time, the shipowner aims to transport a minimum of 25% of ocean cargo using green fuels by 2030, compared to a 2020 baseline.

The arrival of the vessel to Egypt coincides with a major expansion at the East Port Said, which is affiliated to SCZONE, including the integration between the port and the industrial zone in East Port Said.

Specifically, Egypt is investing strenuous efforts to turn SCZONE into a clean energy production and green fuels hub.

Egypt has abundant wind and solar resources which can be used to produce green hydrogen and hydrogen-based green fuels such as e-methanol and ammonia. Due to its strategic geographical position, the country also has market conditions to become a global powerhouse in green energy, and the Egyptian Government is trying to tap into this potential.

Most recently, Egypt made a step towards establishing the country’s first green methanol production project which will include investments of about $450 million and produce 40,000 tons of green methanol per year.

The joint development agreement for this project was signed on 14 May by Egypt’s Alexandria National Refining and Petrochemicals Company (ANRPC) and Norwegian renewable energy solutions provider Scatec in collaboration with the Egyptian Bioethanol Company.

• Plans to turn SCZONE into green fuel hub gain momentum
• Maersk, Siemens Energy, SCZONE get together to discuss green hydrogen projects
• Egypt teams up with Norway’s Scatec to set up green methanol plant