Methanol Dual-Fuel Boxship Added to Maersk Fleet

Danish container shipping and logistics heavyweight A.P. Moller – Maersk has added a brand-new methanol dual-fuel boxship to its fleet.

As revealed in a social media post, Maersk’s latest newbuilding—christened Beijing Maersk—is already in service. The unit, which is the second in a series of six, was built by South Korea’s vessel construction giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI).

Beijing Maersk boasts an overall length of 350 meters and a breadth of 56 meters. Its lightweight totals 49,800 tonnes, while the vessel’s container carrying capacity is 17,480 TEUs.

According to the company, the containership is seen as a ‘step forward’ in Maersk’s path to net zero, particularly since the fact that it can run on a clean fuel like methanol could ensure carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions of at least 60%, compared to vessels that run on conventional heavy fuel oil (HFO).

Beijing Maersk joins the maritime transport firm’s fleet just over a month since its sister ship, the 17,780 TEU Berlin Maersk, was added to the roster. The methanol dual-fuel Berlin Maersk, also built by HD HHI, is the fourteenth dual-fuel newbuild altogether entering the fleet.

This unit was constructed to closely resemble the Ane Maersk class, of which the Copenhagen-headquartered company has received twelve, all dual-fuel and all constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The inaugural ship of this series, Ane Maersk, hailed as the ‘world’s largest’ methanol-fueled container vessel, was christened in January last year.

At the very beginning of June 2025, it was revealed that “the world’s first series of large dual-fuel methanol container vessels” was officially complete, with the arrival of the 16,200 TEU Axel Maersk. The naming ceremony had been performed at HD Hyundai Heavy Industry’s yard in South Korea on May 27.