Hapag-Lloyd retrofitted vessels to benefit from supply of green methanol

Hapag-Lloyd has followed up its commitment to retrofit five vessels to methanol operation with an agreement to purchase 250,000 tonnes of green methanol from Goldwind, the same manufacturer which struck a supply agreement with Maersk in 2023.

“As part of our Strategy 2030, we are fully committed to the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement and therefore also to sustainable investments,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. “With the agreement, we are securing a significant proportion of our requirements for green fuels.”

Sidestepping a wait for the retirement of existing ships, the retrofit of vessels already at sea could significantly increase the speed at which methanol, and other alternative fuels can be adopted. However, concerns remain over the length of time such vessels would have to spend in the shipyard, with a recent methanol retrofit on Maersk Halifax at China’s Zhoushan Xinya shipyard incurring a downtime of 88 days.

Apart from green methanol, Hapag-Lloyd is also committing to LNG as a bridging fuel.

“This [methanol retrofit] will bring us an important step closer to our goal of achieving net-zero fleet operations by 2045,” added Jansen. “It is and remains our ambition to play a leading role in the transformation of the liner shipping industry.”