Laura Maersk: Leading the Way to Sustainable Shipping
As much as 90% of traded goods worldwide are shipped by sea and 99% of cargo ships are powered by oil-based fuels. To change this pattern, the Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk has launched the first container ship fueled by green methanol, the Laura Maersk.
Produced from low-carbon sources such as biomass, renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals, green methanol can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60-95%. This ship’s green methanol is made from biogas captured from decomposing food waste.
According to one report, “By switching to green methanol, this single ship will produce 100 fewer tons of greenhouse gas per day, an amount equivalent to the emissions of 8,000 cars.”
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Maersk’s achievement is part of its commitment to the World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition. It and a group of global corporations are working to decarbonize the world’s heavy-emitting sectors, including aviation, cement and concrete, shipping, steel, and trucking.
More container ships like this one are being built, clear evidence of the shipping industry’s growing efforts to mitigate its impact on global warming.
“Laura Maersk is a historic milestone for shipping across the globe. … This vessel is proof point that when we, as an industry, unite through determined efforts and partnerships, a tangible and optimistic path toward a sustainable future emerges. This new green vessel is the breakthrough we needed, [even if] we still have a long way to go before we make it all the way to zero.”
– Vincent Clerc, Chief Executive, Maersk
