SCZONE participates the naming ceremony of “Laura Maersk” the first methanol vessel

A delegation from the Suez Canal Economic Zone, headed by Mr. Waleid Gamal El Dien, Chairman of SCZONE, participated in the official naming ceremony of Laura Maersk, the first vessel powered by green fuel in the world, the ceremony was held in Copenhagen port, in the presence of the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and Maersk Chair Robert Uggla and Maersk Chief Executive Officer Vincent Clerc.

With an official invitation from Maersk, The Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone participated in the official ceremony to announce the arrival of the methanol vessel to its final destination in Denmark, Europe, and to name it “Laura Mærsk”after a sea route of 21,000 kilometers since the beginning of its manufacture in South Korea, passing through Singapore in the Asian continent, then to its stop in the port of East Port Said port in the economic zone in Egypt, which is the only African destination where the vessel stops and is successfully supplied with green methanol by the Dutch company OCI GLOBAL with about 500 tons of green fuel bunkering at the Suez Canal Container Terminal, then to Rotterdam to reach its last stop in Denmark.

On the sidelines of his participation, Mr. Waleid Gamal El-Dien, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, met Mr. Robert Maersk Uggla, A.P. Moller – Maersk Chairman, to discuss aspects of cooperation between the two sides, especially after the announcement of the second container terminal and the flow of investments for Maersk shipping line in East Port Said Port.

The meeting also discussed the C2X company ,which will be owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk group, its working plan that will be launched in both Egypt within the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and Spain, to produce green methanol to reduce carbon emissions resulting from Marine tankers, especially cargo vessels, the company is expected to have an annual green methanol production capacity of more than 3 million tons by 2030. The company has identified green methanol as the best technology to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral in 2040.

The meeting also discussed the announcement of the signing framework agreement between the Economic Zone, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company, the Renewable Energy Authority, and Maersk by next October, for the Danish Maersk Company’s project to establish a green fuel production facility within the Economic Zone, specifically in the Sokhna zone, so that this agreement is considered The tenth of the framework agreements that were signed during the climate change summit last November.

On the other hand, SCZONE Chairman met with Mr. David Skov, Training CEO at Maersk to discuss mechanisms for joint cooperation in the fields of technical training, crisis management, and other technical training programs for technicians and managers working in the field of ports and maritime shipping, especially those ports affiliated to the Economic Zone.