Decarbonising oceans

Why green fuels matter

For more than a century, shipping has relied on just one type of fuel: oil.

Today, we see the emergence of a patchwork of new lower emission marine fuel alternatives. While many are promising, adoption will ultimately depend on advances in fleet technology and the capacity to secure green* fuels at a scale and cost that makes them competitive against fossil fuels.

To ensure a measurable impact in this crucial decade, we are spreading our investments across several fuel pathways that can make a difference both now and in the future.

Our ambition

We will take leadership in decarbonising global supply chains.

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Highlights in 2024

New vessels

Seven large dual-fuel methanol vessels joined our fleet during the year. An additional 20 dual-fuel vessels were ordered for delivery between 2028-2030.

New fuel offtake agreements

With an additional methanol offtake agreement, Maersk can now meet more than 50% of the expected dual-fuel methanol fleet demand in 2027.

Improving energy efficiency

We reached an EEOI of 11.1 gCO2e/t nm compared to 11.7 in 2023 making a record low for the second consecutive year. The EEOI is an expression of emission per CO2e per unit of transport work.

Priorities and actions

Maersk follows a diversified, fuel-agnostic portfolio strategy to ensure we can cut emissions now and over the mid-term as multiple pathways to net-zero emissions mature and, in the case of fossil fuels, start to wind down. Based on our pathway analysis of viable future green fuels for ocean shipping, we are currently prioritizing the exploration of four alternative fuel types:

Biodiesels

Derived from waste as residue as feedstocks, biofuels have significant impact potential. Suitable as drop-in fuel in existing vessels, they are already powering our fleet and are sold as Maersk ECO Delivery Ocean.

Green methanol

Bio-methanol and e-methanol can be produced from sustainable biomass and renewable electricity. They have well-known handling and are powering vessels today.

We are prioritising green methanol solutions as they will enable us to have a greater impact on the sustainability of global supply chains in this decade.

Bio-methane

We see promising developments in liquified bio-methane (also known as bio-LNG) as a viable fuel pathway that can contribute to our energy transition’s fuel shift, although its full scaling abilities are yet to be seen. With the right sourcing and production pathway, bio-methane can achieve significant greenhouse gas reductions over its lifecycle and offers flexibility in the mid-term as other fuel pathways continue maturing. By diversifying our fleet of dual-fuel vessels, we gain technical and commercial knowledge and experience across multiple future fuel pathways, and we strengthen the toolkit that will lead us towards our near-term 2030 SBTi-validate targets.

At the same time, our overall position on LNG has not changed: LNG is a fossil fuel and LNG is methane, which is a very potent greenhouse gas, particularly short-term. There is a risk of methane slippage for all methane pathways and hence it is crucial to control methane emissions during extraction, transport and processing, as well as on vessel engine types with low methane slip.

Green ammonia

E-ammonia can be produced at scale from renewable electricity and contains zero carbon, however it currently presents safety and toxicity challenges, and challenges at ports. While it could be the most promising future option, it may take longer to scale.

Safeguarding the environmental sustainability of green fuels

To ensure that green fuels are sourced and assessed in an environmentally responsible manner, Maersk has requirements for biomass feedstocks and green fuels covering all uses across the company.

These requirements are governed by three pillars: certification, lifecycle GHG savings, and acceptable feedstocks. New green fuels are assessed on a lifecycle analysis basis and in addition to climate change, we consider a broad range of environmental indicators such as biodiversity, ecosystems, resources and materials depletion, human health and ecotoxicity, air and water quality.

Our requirements for current and possible future green fuels for ocean shipping are outlined in three policies:

Maersk green fuel requirements

Maersk biofuel sustainability requirements

Maersk methanol sustainability requirements

*Green fuels refers to fuels with low to very low greenhouse (GHG) gas emissions over their lifecycle compared to fossil reference fuels. Different green fuels achieve different lifecycle reductions depending on their production pathway. ‘Low’ refers to fuels with a lifecycle GHG reduction of 60-80% compared to fossil fuels and ‘very low’ refers to fuels with a lifecycle GHG reduction of 80-95% compared to fossil fuels.

All the way to zero

In 2024, we welcomed seven new large, dual fuel vessels capable of running on green methanol. Learn more about our new fleet and our ambition to achieve net zero by 2040, in line with our Science Based Target initiative’s validated targets – the first in the shipping industry. Discover the innovation, strategy and partnerships that resulted in the first major landmark to decarbonising ocean container transportation. All the way to zero.

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A Maersk ship on water, running on green methanol, carrying cargo containers.

Featured highlights and case stories

The industry’s first retrofitted dual-fuel methanol container vessel

In 2024, we took delivery of the Maersk Halifax, a vessel retrofitted by MAN Energy Solutions to operate on methanol. Following the completion of the sea-trials from the Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard in China, Maersk Halifax returned to operations and is now servicing customers on the Trans-Pacific trade.

In addition to replacing machine parts for the engine to operate on methanol, the retrofit involved adding new fuel tanks, a fuel preparation room and fuel supply system, with the hull expanded to accommodate the new fuel tanks. With this change, the length of the ship was extended by 15 meters to 368 meters, increasing the capacity from around 15,000 to 15,690 TEU.

Maersk ECO Delivery: accelerate your net zero commitments

We are working closely with a broad range of customers to expand our low emissions offerings. Maersk ECO Delivery substitutes fossil fuels with low-GHG alternatives and harnesses our new technologies and vessels to provide an easier option for customers seeking to ship their cargo more sustainably.

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Maersk Emissions Dashboard

Whether you are looking for improved visibility over ocean freight greenhouse gas emissions data, or enhanced emissions reporting and optimisation across your logistics set up, the Maersk Emissions Dashboard is a single point solution for keeping your emissions targets in sight.

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Annual Report 2024

For the first time, we are reporting on our sustainability performance as an integrated part of Maersk's Annual Report. See the report for more information on progress towards environmental, social and governance commitments.

Annual Report 2024