Maersk completes sixth and final vessel in its record-breaking methanol-powered dual-fuel fleet
The new Barcelona Maersk and its five sister vessels are the largest methanol dual-fuel container vessels in the world
Shipping giant Maersk has completed the sixth and final container ship in its initial methanol-powered dual-fuel fleet, which was first announced in 2022.
Like its five predecessors, the Barcelona Maersk has the capacity to carry 17,480 20ft shipping containers (TEU), making them the largest methanol-powered container vessels in the world.
The six ships — including the Berlin Maersk, Beijing Maersk, Bangkok Maersk, Brussels Maersk and Brisbane Maersk — were all constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries at its shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, using marine engines built by Germany’s Everllence (formerly MAN Energy Solutions).
The Berlin Maersk was the first of the six to be completed, in June 2025, although the company’s first dual-fuel methanol vessel was the 2,100-TEU Laura Maersk — also the world’s first — which was completed in 2023.
The Danish company also owns 12 slightly smaller methanol dual-fuel container ships of 16,000 TEU, which were delivered between January 2024 and May 2025.
All the dual-fuel vessels can run on either conventional marine diesel fuel or methanol, with the latter requiring the use of diesel as an ignition fuel because methanol is difficult to ignite.
Green methanol (CH3OH) is made either by combining captured carbon dioxide and hydrogen, or by gasifying biomass to produce a syngas of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. In both cases, the gases are converted into methanol in a catalytic reactor at elevated pressures and temperatures, followed by distillation.
Cover photo: The naming ceremony for the Barcelona Maersk at Hyundai Heavy Industry's shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
