The Laura Maersk ship - a new feeder of the Maersk line - appeared at the GCT container terminal at the Port of Gdynia tonight. This is the world's first methanol-powered container ship, which is also intended to operate on a regular basis in the Baltic Sea.

The container ship Laura Maersk arrived at the GCT terminal of Hutchison Ports at the Port of Gdynia tonight. This is an important visit because it is the first container ship in the world to use methanol as fuel. The vessel left South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in August and then sailed to the Baltic Sea, generating great interest in every port it called. The ship reached Rotterdam on August 28, and from there it sailed to Copenhagen, where on September 14 it was officially named Laura Maersk. His godmother was the President of the European Union Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Laura Maersk (IMO: 9944546) is 172 meters long and has a capacity of 2,136 TEU. It was named after Captain Peter Maersk-Moller's first steamship, which bore this name from 1886. The steamship also featured a white, seven-pointed star on a light blue background for the first time, which later became the logo of A.P. Moller-Maersk.

A unique container ship arrived at GCT as part of the service from Rotterdam. After reloading the containers, it will continue to Gothenburg. This is the first visit of the vessel to Poland, and at the same time proof that the process of decarbonization of shipping and the maritime industry has entered the next phase. The GCT terminal also wants to move in this direction. The emission-free electric container cranes are already in operation, and work is underway to modernize other ones. Gdynia Container Terminal is thus preparing for important investments aimed at meeting the environmental goals of the terminal and the entire Hutchison Ports group, which has undertaken a commitment to achieve complete environmental neutrality of all its ports and terminals by 2050. Modernization of yard cranes will reduce direct CO2 emissions by approximately 1,700 tons per year. However, GCT is also planning further activities.

- Currently, many shipowners are starting to invest in the technology of using green fuels. This is the direction that all global shipping will follow to support the decarbonization efforts of the maritime industry. The Laura Maersk call is part of our strategy to decarbonize our operations. Over the next 10 years, we want to phase out traditional fuel from our operations and thus significantly reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. We are preparing significant investment projects aimed at replacing diesel engines with electric devices, also reducing noise pollution. We are very advanced when it comes to these technologies and concepts - said Jan Jarmakowski, managing director of GCT.

It is very possible that in the coming years there will be more ships at GCT and other Polish terminals that, like Laura Maersk, use methanol. Since placing the order at the shipyard in 2021, Maersk itself has concluded contracts for a further 24 dual-fuel ships. In total, according to DNV data, shipyards around the world are currently working on 144 container ships using methanol, which constitutes 80% of all ships ordered for this fuel.