Container shipping firms are future-proofing their orderbooks with a green push

Shipping firms are hedging their bets in the green transition: Container firms — including Denmark’s Maersk, French liner group CMA CGM, and China’s Cosco — have ramped up orders in recent years for hybrid engines designed for several different green fuel types to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Reuters reported last month. However, their order books highlight uncertainty about which of the many potential green fuels will become the industry standard in the future, and whether these fuels will be affordable and plentiful enough to maintain fleet operations. Although most ships that operate on conventional fossil fields can run on biodiesel as well, supplies are forecast to fall far short of what is necessary for the maritime industry.

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The context: Decarbonizing the shipping industry is crucial to global climate change efforts, as it contributes around 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, achieving this goal will be challenging and expensive, demanding USD bns in investments for new ships and fuel production. The UN's International Maritime Organization aims to eliminate shipping industry emissions by 2050, but so far, policymakers have offered limited support or clear direction on how companies should reach this target, leaving the market's future uncertain.

Container shipping is leading the way: Container shipping companies have ordered twice as many alternative-fuel vessels as petroleum tankers and bulk carriers, with pending orders set at 522 dual-fuel new vessels as of late October. 303 of these ships are designed to run on LNG, 216 will run on methanol, two will use hydrogen, and one would be equipped to use ammonia, according to DNV data cited by Reuters. Almost 65% of container vessel orders in 2024 were intended for dual-fuel engines, a surge from the 4% in 2018.

CMA is ahead of the game: CMA has 35 dual-fuel ships ready to use biofuels and e-fuels in its fleet with another 84 on the order books as of last January. The company plans to have 119 dual-fuel ships in operation by 2028.

The agreements are rolling in: Maersk has inked a long-term bio-methanol offtake agreement with China’s Longi Green Energy Tech earlier this month as it looks to secure methanol for its growing dual-fuel methanol fleet, with full production forecasted by 2030. CMA and UAE’s Masdar inked a strategic supply partnership back in January to explore the feasibility of striking up a long-term green maritime fuels offtake agreement to supply CMA CGM vessels. CMA is also working with Cosco to procure, supply, and transport green methanol at major ports in China.

Speaking of Cosco: The firm signed an agreement in July with Australian green energy firm Fortescue to jointly build a green fuel supply chain to help reduce pollution in the shipping industry. MSC is equipping an undisclosed portion of its new LNG vessels with ammonia-compatible tanks.

Transition fuels could play a part: Despite being a fossil fuel, LNG could cut GHG emissions up to 23% because it burns cleaner than traditional ship fuels. The transition to fuels like LNG could “play quite a big role until 2035 or 2040,” VP of supply chain research at Rystad Energy Jo Friedmann told Reuters. Environmentalists and climate scientists are less enthusiastic because the shipment of LNG can lead to methane leaks.

The way forward: Executives are calling for global deadlines to phase out polluting fuels, government incentives for the production and use of lower-carbon fuels, and penalties for those who delay adopting cleaner alternatives. Additionally, several companies are investing in other alternative fuels such as green methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen-based fuels produced using renewable energy sources like solar and wind.