At a working e-methanol plant in southern Denmark, a quiet truth about the energy transition is becoming visible: shipping has never built the fuel systems it depends on, and it is unlikely to start now. As road transport and industrial sectors generate genuine regulatory demand for green fuels, the maritime industry finds itself in a familiar historical position — arriving not as architect, but as beneficiary. The question is not whether shipping can decarbonize, but whether the policy frameworks being assembled across Europe will leave room for it at the table.