Maersk to Buy Bio-methanol Shipping Fuel from China's LONGi

Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Wednesday it has signed a long-term deal for the supply of bio-methanol to its vessels from China's LONGi Green Energy Technology from 2026.

The agreement will help lower greenhouse gas emissions from Maersk's growing fleet of dual-fuel methanol container vessels, of which seven are now in operation, the company said in a statement.

"The major deal with LONGi further confirms the ability of bio-methanol to achieve significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions in this decade," Maersk said.

Bio-methanol and e-methanol continue to be the most promising alternative shipping fuels to scale up in this decade, Maersk said, while adding that the price gap to conventional fuel remains the biggest challenge to reaching net-zero emissions.

"We continue to strongly urge the International Maritime Organization's member states to level the playing field by adopting a global green fuel standard and an ambitious pricing mechanism which the industry urgently needs," Maersk said.

(Reuters - Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Stine Jacobsen)