Maersk has reached another milestone in its efforts to prepare for the transition to alternative fuels.

Recently, the twelfth vessel of Maersk's first batch of large dual-fuel methanol container ships was officially delivered. This new ship was delivered in South Korea seventeen months after the naming of the first ship in this series.

The latest Axel Maersk is named after Axel Poul Peder Maersk Uggla, who is the grandson of Ane Maersk McKinney Uggla. Ane Maersk McKinney Uggla is the chairperson of the A.P. Moller Foundation and also the inspiration for the naming of the first ship of this class. Maersk chose names beginning with "A" for the entire collection, namely Ane, Alette, Antonia, Alexandra, Alva, Astrid, Angelica, A.P. Møller, Axel, Albert, Adrian, and Arthur Maersk.

These ships were all built at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in Ulsan, and the last one was named on May 27th. It was named in Rotterdam two months later than Adrian Maersk. These vessels have all been deployed to the company's new east-west network, which was established in collaboration with Hapag-Lloyd's Gemini. Adrian Maersk, the company reported that it would be deployed from Asia to the Mediterranean Sea, while other ships of the same class would sail to Northern Europe. Axel Maersk has set off for Shanghai and is scheduled to make its first voyage on June 4th.

Each ship has a deadweight tonnage of 189,500 tons, a length of approximately 337 meters (1,105 feet), and can accommodate 16,000 standard containers. MAN Energy Solutions has developed a dual-fuel engine, which is designed for methanol or gas and can use traditional methanol as well as future abundant e-methanol or bio-methanol. These ships are registered in Denmark.

It is learned that Maersk also plans to receive six new dual-fuel methanol container ships this year. Maersk placed an order for these additional vessels with Hyundai Heavy Industries in October 2022. Although these vessels will be similar to the first batch, the company reports that the nominal capacity of each vessel in the second batch series will reach approximately 17,000 TEUs.

These vessels are part of Maersk's large-scale fleet modernization plan announced in 2024. Maersk has previously ordered six 9,000 TEU dual-fuel methanol carriers from Yangtze River Shipbuilding Group, which are scheduled for delivery in 2026 and 2027. In the second half of 2024, Maersk completed the order of a total of 20 dual-fuel vessels with a total capacity of 30,000 TEUs. This order is divided into three parts, which are respectively built by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, New Era Shipbuilding and Hyundai Merchant Marine of South Korea in China and South Korea.