News / Maersk insists CMA CGM deal is not a change in green strategy

© Frank Harms

Still in the afterglow of its “new age” of green methanol-fuelled shipping launched last week, Maersk – despite its anti-LNG stance –  has set up a new cooperation with CMA CGM on green fuels.

According to a statement today, the collaboration will establish a “framework of mass production of green methane and green methanol”.

The move appears a departure for Maersk, given its new partner’s substantial fleet, and incoming orderbook, of LNG-fuelled newbuilds. In the recent past, Maersk has sought to distance itself from LNG; in 2020, former Maersk CEO Soren Skou said that LNG “…is still a fossil fuel” and that “[Maersk] don’t believe that LNG is going to play a big role for us as a transition fuel.”

However speaking with The Loadstar this morning, a Maersk spokesperson said there was no change in company strategy.

“Both companies have said all along that we need a mix of fuels. We have identified areas we can work together on – setting standards for bunkering, standards for green fuels, investing in R&D together.

“There is no change of direction for Maersk. LNG is not a fuel of the future for our fleet. [Maersk] investments will follow the same principles as always; it will invest in technologies and innovation that can develop new green alternatives to fossil fuel.”

“This partnership is a milestone for the decarbonisation of our industry,” said Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM’s chief executive, in a statement today.

“By combining the know-how and the expertise of two shipping leaders, we will accelerate the development of new solutions and technologies, enabling our industry to reach its CO2 reduction targets. We are looking forward to being joined by other companies.”

CMA CGM has investigated potential for green bio-LNG derived from sewage in the past, including collaboration with TotalEnergies and others on projects to harness French sewer gas, which can be refined into a carbon-neutral fuel chemically identical to today’s fossil LNG.

“AP Moller – Maersk wants to accelerate the green transition in shipping and logistics and to do so, we need strong involvement from partners across the industry,” said Vincent Clerc, Maersk CEO in a statement.

“We are pleased to have an ally in CMA CGM and it’s a testament that when we united through determined efforts and partnerships, a tangible and optimistic path toward a sustainable future emerges.”

At the beginning of this year, Maersk and MSC announced the upcoming break-up of their 2M alliance from 2025. Since then, Maersk’s former alliance partner appears to have gone all-in on LNG, with an orderbook almost entirely comprised of LNG-fuelled vessels, and new membership of consortium Sea-LNG announced in August, joining at least 14 fossil fuel and petrochemical companies. Sea-LNG chairman Peter Keller has advocated for LNG, saying that the fossil fuel is “available at scale for deepsea shipping today”.

However Aoife O’Leary, CEO of Opportunity Green, has criticised the industry focus on fossil-LNG as an attempt to “con” customers and the general public. “If you want to use LNG, go ahead… just don’t tell me you’re doing it for the climate,” she told The Loadstar.

Last week, Maersk christened Laura Maersk, its first green methanol ship, a 2100 TEU feeder vessel, saying, in the words of chairman Robert Uggla, that the vessel “represents an industrial revolution, but of a green character.”