ESG Today writes that the announcement follows a series of carbon-reduction commitments made by the company last year, when officials set plans to operate methanol-powered container ships starting 2026.

Also, Maersk officials want the logistics expert to hit a net-zero target by 2040, as well as cutting emissions associated with container transport by 50% by the next decade. Shipping currently accounts for 3% of the world's total emissions, which is why the industry is being pressured to reduce its environmental footprint.

Leonardo Sonzio, Head of Fleet Management and Technology at Maersk, said that "we have set an ambitious net-zero emissions target for 2040 across the entire business and have taken a leading role in decarbonizing logistics. Retrofitting of engines to run on methanol is an important lever in our strategy. With this initiative, we wish to pave the way for future scalable retrofit programs in the industry and thereby accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to green fuels."

Making ships run on methanol is a complicated task for the engineers, which need to modernize the engines, the fuel tanks and even the fuel supply systems, to make sure that operations will go on smoothly from now on, as well.

MAN Energy Solutions will take care of the engine's retrofitting, with the first modernized engine expected to be worked on sometime in 2024 and the final ones, in 2027.