Ulsan port completes first ship-to-ship methanol bunkering for a large container ship

Maersk’s first 16,200 teu methanol-fuelled newbuilding successfully completed a ship-to-ship bunkering on green methanol in the South Korean port after leaving HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan where it was constructed.

Ahead of demonstration bunkering of green methanol Korea’s Minister of Oceans and Fisheries set out ‘Guidelines for Approval of Self-Safety Management Plan for Methanol Supply’.

 “Competition among international ports to preempt the market by building ports that supply sustainable marine fuel is accelerating,” said Kang Do-Hyung, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries. “Under the goal of achieving net-zero by 2050 in the global shipping sector, we will make all-out efforts to strengthen competitiveness so that Korea can lead the global trend of switching to sustainable fuels.”

It is the first in a series of 18 very large methanol powered container ships ordered by Maersk and the company continues to work on sourcing green methanol for 2024 and 2025.

Kim Jae-gyun, the president of Ulsan Port Authority, commented “Following the success of the world’s first green methanol PTS bunkering for container ships in July last year, Ulsan Port has succeeded in green methanol STS bunkering for a very large container ship. We will do our best to proactively respond to the paradigm shift in ship fuel so that Ulsan Port can be reborn as a hub port for sustainable marine fuel supply.”The Ane Maersk will be deployed on Maersk’s AE7 service between Asia and Europe from February.