Maersk's first methanol-enabled vessel to service Asia-Europe route in February: Danish shipping giant Maersk (Maersk) is set to deploy the first of 18 methanol-enabled vessels on order on 9 February 2024, according to a press release. The vessel will service Maersk’s AE7 route, which includes calls at Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo, and Hamburg. The move comes in a bid to decarbonize the carrier’s operations and meet its net-zero targets for 2040, the statement adds.

About the vessel: The container vessel is built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries and has a 16k TEU capacity. It is equipped with a dual-fuel engine that can be powered by methanol, biodiesel, and conventional bunker fuel, the release adds. Two of the vessel’s sister ships are slated for deployment in 1H 2024, with Maersk expecting delivery of an additional four such vessels in 2H 2024. Maersk’s order book for green methanol powered vessels currently stands at 24, the statement said.

China clashes with US over new trade regulations: China says the US’ plans to exclude it from US battery supply chains is a violation of World Trade Organization rules and would disrupt global supply chains, Reuters reports. “Targeting Chinese enterprises by excluding their products from a subsidy's scope is typical non-market oriented policy,” said Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson, He Yadong.

Background: The Biden administration has passed laws excluding investors from subsidies if they include China and some other countries in their EV supply chain.

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