KSOE signs $1.14B contract with Maersk for methanol-powered container ships

A conceptual image of a methanol-powered carrier ship to be built by Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering for Maersk. [MAERSK]

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) announced Wednesday that it had signed a 1.62-trillion-won ($1.14 billion) contract with Danish shipper Maersk for six methanol-powered container ships.

KSOE, the intermediate sub-holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries, made the announcement Wednesday through a press release.

The six container ships will be built in Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan, and the size of the ships will be 17,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), equipped with dual-fuel methanol engines.

Methanol is a green fuel that significantly reduces emissions of pollutants such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gas compared to conventional oil fuel.

KSOE plans to deliver the methanol-powered carrier ships to Maersk by 2025.

So far, KSOE has won orders from Maersk for a total of 19 methanol-powered container ships, and it is anticipated that when all 19 are completely built and delivered to the Danish shipper for full-fledged operation, it will result in reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 2.3 million tons per year, according to KSOE.

KSOE and Maersk had signed to build the first ever methanol-powered container ships back in August last year.

In January this year, Maersk set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero across their entire supply chain by 2040, and to use green fuels for 25 percent of all cargo transported at sea by 2030.

“It is meaningful in that we have proven our competitiveness by winning a series of orders for methanol-powered container ships based on our differentiated technology,” said a spokesperson for KSOE. “KSOE will make efforts to lead the eco-friendly ship market by reinforcing its cooperation with Maersk in related fields.”

With the most recent order, KSOE added further to its already mounting pile of orders. The company has so far won orders for a total of 183 ships this year, worth $21.82 billion altogether, achieving 125.1 percent of its yearly target, according to KSOE.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]