Chinese shipbuilding company Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard has started the retrofitting process of Maersk Halifax, a 14,000 TEU containership owned by Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller–Maersk, to enable the vessel to run on methanol, reports Offshore Energy.
World’s first methanol dual-fuel conversion project
In October last year, Maersk and the Chinese shipbuilder signed the world’s first methanol dual-fuel conversion project. German engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions (MAN ES) was contracted to retrofit the engine.
On March 8, Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard kicked off the upgrade process with a steel-cutting ceremony for Maersk Halifax.
The containership is scheduled to arrive in early July this year and will undergo conversion and repair for about three months.
Maersk is planning to expand the retrofit project on several sister vessels when going for a special survey in 2027. The project aligns with the shipowner’s net-zero goal by 2040.
The conversion project is the latest milestone in Maersk’s strategy of adoption of methanol as part of its decarbonization efforts.
In September 2023, Maersk christened its first methanol-powered containership, Laura Maersk. In addition, at the beginning of October 2023, South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) launched the first of twelve Maersk’s 16,200 TEU methanol-powered container ships.
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Source: Offshore Energy
