Laura Maersk is methanol fuel-enabled feeder container ship launched in 2023. Owned by Maersk, It is the world's first container ship to be powered by a methanol-fuel engine.
Laura Maersk was built as a dual fuel (methanol and diesel) container ship in Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, South Korea.[1] [2]
It was named by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Copenhagen on 14 September 2023.[1] It is named after the steam ship SS Laura, the first ship owned by Peter Mærsk Møller, father of the founder of Maersk.[1] It is world's first methanol fuel-enabled container ship and is part of Maersk's objective of having a fleet that operates solely on green fuels.[1]
Laura Maersk is 172m (564feet) long, 32m (105feet) wide and has a gross tonnage of .[3] Both its main engine, developed by MAN Energy Solutions in partnership with Hyundai Heavy Industries, and its auxiliary Hyundai Heavy Industries Hi-touch Marine & Stationary Engine are capable of running on methanol and diesel.[4] [2] Maersk aims to use green methanol to fuel Laura Maersk, initially from Rotterdam, Netherlands until production is enabled in Denmark.[2] [5] The ship has a capacity of 2100 TEU.[6]