The merchant marine sector consists of container carriers, tankers, and bulk carriers. It accounts for most of the shipping sector’s CO2 emissions.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which, regulates the sector, significantly strengthened its greenhouse gas reduction targets in July 2023. The strategy is to reach net-zero emissions from international shipping by around 2050, with interim targets of 20-30 percent by 2030 and 70-80 percent by 2040.

At present, there are no huge technological blockers to these ambitions. Merchant marine ships have one thing in common: they are all propelled by a two-stroke engine, and the world’s first methanol two-stroke engine has been in operation since 2016. Designed in Copenhagen, it is now implemented at engine builders across the world, particularly in Korea, China, and Japan.

The same team is currently designing the world’s largest methanol engine suitable for container carriers and other very large merchant marine ships, which is expected to be sailing the seas in January 2024. When fed with sustainably produced methanol, this engine reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 95 percent compared to an engine running on heavy fuel oil.