Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) on Wednesday (21 July) said Project CAPTURED has achieved two regulatory milestones that strengthen the commercial case for onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS).

This comes following its world’s first demonstration of an end-to-end value chain for onboard captured and liquefied CO2 (LCO2).

Completed in June 2025, the pilot showed that CO2 captured onboard a vessel can be offloaded ship-to-ship, transported overland and permanently bound through carbon mineralisation—a process that converts captured CO₂ into stable materials for industrial use.

The CO2 captured onboard during Project CAPTURED has been formally recognised for compliance under the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). This means the verified tonnage of captured CO2 can be deducted from emissions requiring the surrender of EU Allowances (EUAs).

To qualify for this recognition, the CO2 must be chemically bound permanently in eligible products. Project CAPTURED demonstrated that CO2 captured onboard vessels can meet this requirement through carbon mineralisation.

The data and learnings from the same demonstration formed the basis of a proposal submitted to MEPC 84. This proposal received in-principle support from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for recognising carbon mineralisation as a form of permanent CO₂ storage.

Complementing geological sequestration, which is already accepted by the IMO, this recognition broadens the downstream options for CO2 captured onboard vessels, and supports the development of maritime carbon value chains. Beyond providing a permanent storage pathway, carbon mineralisation also creates the potential for captured CO2 to serve not only as a waste stream requiring permanent storage, but also as a feedstock for industrial applications through carbon mineralisation, extending emissions reductions beyond the shipping value chain.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO, GCMD, said, “Project CAPTURED has moved OCCS beyond technical demonstration. The acceptance of the EU ETS deduction gives captured CO₂ a compliance value. At the same time, IMO’s in-principle support for carbon mineralisation will help clarify how captured CO2 can be treated after it leaves the vessel. Together, these milestones turn a pilot into a verified reference case for maritime carbon logistics, one that links regulatory recognition, commercial value and emissions impact.”

Photo credit: Venti Views on Unsplash
Published: 22 July, 2026

In an article published on Alkagesta Market Insights, Darren Lee Axisa, Malta Country Manager of Alkagesta, on Monday (20 July) discussed the key trends influencing Malta’s bunkering market and the factors that will determine Malta’s long-term competitiveness as a regional bunkering hub: 

Malta’s bunkering and energy market is moving through a period of structural adjustment. The disruptions that defined the first half of 2026 have accelerated shifts in product demand, terminal strategy, and the competitive dynamics of one of the Mediterranean’s most strategically positioned bunkering hubs. For Alkagesta, whose storage footprint on the island approaches 300,000 cubic metres, the period has tested operational flexibility while reinforcing the value of diversified infrastructure access.

A Market Shifting in Two Directions

Malta’s broader economy has remained resilient — GDP growth reached 3.9% in Q1 2026 — but the bunkering market has undergone a significant product mix shift, the roots of which predate the current geopolitical disruption.

The Mediterranean Emission Control Area, which came into force on 1 May 2025, triggered an immediate and measurable realignment in fuel demand across the region. VPS data covering the first six months post-ECA implementation shows that across the top ten Mediterranean bunkering ports, VLSFO volumes fell 23%, MGO more than doubled, ULSFO quadrupled, and biofuels increased fivefold. In Valletta specifically, the shift was even more pronounced: VLSFO dropped 57% from 111,641 mt to 47,732 mt, while MGO volumes more than tripled from 33,299 mt to 103,445 mt, and ULSFO rose from 2,821 mt to 34,535 mt over the same period.

This structural rotation has been further accelerated by the broader regulatory environment. FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS requirements are pushing shipowners toward cleaner, verifiable fuel options at every port call — a direction Alkagesta had already positioned itself ahead of, having been among the first movers in the Mediterranean to support the transition to 0.1% sulphur fuel oil following the ECA’s introduction.

Layered on top of this regulatory shift has been a period of reduced terminal capacity affecting bunkering market availability across the island. Fuel oil volumes dropped roughly 35% year-on-year between January and May 2026, falling from approximately 382,000 mt in 2025 to 247,000 mt. DMA demand moved sharply in the opposite direction, rising from around 150,000 mt in January to April 2025 to 247,000 mt over the same period in 2026 — a trend consistent with both the ECA-driven product mix shift and the disruption to heavier fuel availability during the constrained period.

Note: The full article can be read here. 

Photo credit: Alkagesta
Published: 22 July, 2026

Ofiniti, the digital platform for maritime fuel operations, on Tuesday (21 July) said it has started a trial in Singapore, integrating FuelBoss directly with a bunker buyer’s own platform.

The company announced Singapore-headquartered container shipping firm Ocean Network Express (ONE) as its first buyer-side integration partner. 

“It is no coincidence we start in Singapore, as the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) remains at the forefront of digitalisation of all things bunkering,” the company said in a social media post.

In November 2023, MPA launched its digital bunkering platform, becoming the world’s first port to implement e-BDN. 

Ofiniti said every bunker delivery still runs on retyped data. 

“The buyer’s system says one thing, the supplier says another, and someone reconciles the gap by email, phone, or PDF. On every stem,” the company said. 

“We built FuelBoss to change this reality.”

With the integration, operational data now flows without manual re-entry, fewer reconciliation errors and faster processing and data, instead of documents, are readily available for procurement and claims workflows. 

“One connection will not transform the industry on its own, but digitalisation gets built one integration at a time. We are grateful to ONE for being willing to go first,” Ofiniti added.

Manifold Times previously reported ONE completing its successful trial of the electronic Bunker Delivery Note (e-BDN) with Shell. 

The e-BDN trial, using the digital bunkering solution developed by Angsana Technology, was conducted on 9 September 2023 at the Port of Singapore, with support from the MPA.

In March 2025, Ofiniti acquired Singapore-based Angsana Technology, with the entire Angsana team joining Ofiniti as part of the acquisition.

Related: MPA Chief Executive: Port of Singapore begins digital bunkering initiative today
Related: Singapore set to become first port in the world to debut electronic bunker delivery notes
Related: ONE completes e-BDN adoption trial with Shell in Port of Singapore
Related: Ofiniti acquires Singapore-based Angsana Technology to advance digital bunkering solutions

Photo credit: Ofiniti
Published: 22 July, 2026