Anyone who wanted to visit Maersk’s new green cargo ship on Wednesday received an email before dawn saying that the tours had been cancelled. The ship left the port a few hours later.
Few details were available, but Maersk’s email indicated that planned protests on site had led to the decision.
“We have recently learned that activist groups are planning protests at our venue and the security assessment indicates a risk that the protests could reach a level that would disrupt the event and require police involvement,” said the email, sent around 1 a.m. Wednesday.
“We are truly sorry to inform you that we see no other option than to cancel the public tours of our newest dual-fuel methanol vessel Alette Mærsk scheduled for August 28,” the email continued. “We deeply apologize for any inconvenience the cancellation may cause.”
The local authorities recommended the cancellation, the email said.
Instead, Maersk has provided an online link to a behind-the-scenes video of one of Alette’s sister ships, Ane Maersk.
“We deeply regret this situation as we were looking forward to opening the doors to the public and showing you this magnificent ship – the first of its kind to call at the United States and running on green methanol on its maiden voyage from China to Los Angeles,” the email said. “We were humbled by the level of interest from so many people in the Los Angeles area who wanted to visit the ship and experience first-hand this very tangible evidence of green transition and a critical step toward a greener future for our planet.”
“We thank you for your interest in our journey to decarbonise shipping and logistics,” the email continued, “a journey that is of utmost importance to AP Møller-Maersk – and we apologize once again for any inconvenience caused by the cancellation of the event.”
A Maersk spokesman only provided a written comment and quoted from the email.
