In a ground-breaking move, A.P. Moller Maersk and CMA CGM, two major players in the shipping industry, have announced their decision to collaborate on various initiatives aimed at achieving decarbonization.
Both organisations are certain that working together can hasten the green shift in maritime transportation. More specifically, the two lines will coordinate their efforts to advance the use of alternative greener fuels for container vessel propulsion, such as:
- Developing high standards for alternative sustainable, green fuels – including the analysis of full lifecycle and related greenhouse gasses – and helping to setting the framework of mass production of green methane and green methanol.
- Developing and maintaining standards for operation of green methanol vessels with regards to safety and bunkering, as well as accelerating port readiness for bunkering and supply of bio/e-methanol at key ports around the world.
- Continuing to explore jointly R&D on other components of the net zero solution as new alternative fuels, like ammonia, or innovation technology for their ships.
Both CMA CGM and Maersk have set a net-zero target for their shipping business, have identified scalable solutions that can create impact in this decade, and have already individually taken ambitious paths on promoting decarbonization for shipping.
For instance, Maersk has been ordering vessels that can be operated on bio/e-methanol while the first-ever container vessel powered by methanol, Laura Maersk, recently completed it’s maiden voyage.
We are pleased to have an ally in CMA CGM and it’s a testament that when we united through determined efforts and partnerships, a tangible and optimistic path toward a sustainable future emerges.
Furthermore, CMA CGM has been ordering LNG-propelled vessels, that can also be operated on bio/e-methane, the new green equivalent of current LNG, and has also placed orders for vessels that can be operated on bio/e-methanol.
By combining the know-how and the expertise of two shipping leaders, we will accelerate the development of new solutions and technologies, enabling our industry to reach its CO2 reduction targets. We are looking forward to being joined by other companies.
… added Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group
While these two fuel streams appear now as the most mature among existing solutions, both companies expect the future fuel mix of shipping will include other streams that should be developed in the coming years.
To remind, as DNV found in its Maritime Forecast to 2050 report, the shipping sector will struggle to get a sufficient quantity of carbon-neutral fuels. As a result, everyone involved in the business should be flexible to new strategies for cutting emissions as well as fuel options.
