Port of Savannah achieves milestone with first ever methanol bunkering op

Proman on Thursday (21 March) said Stena Provident, one of methanol fuelled ships commissioned through the partnership between Proman and Stena Bulk, completed the first ever methanol bunkering at the Port of Savannah, in Georgia, US on 29 February. 

The vessel, which is time-chartered by Bahri Chemicals, successfully loaded almost 1,000 metric tonnes (mt) of methanol at Colonial Terminals’ Lathrop 2 facility, in an historic first for the port.

Proman said the landmark represented another step forward for methanol as a marine fuel.

Anita Gajadhar, Executive Director of Marketing and Logistics at Proman, said: “Savannah is a significant port and completing the first ever methanol bunkering here underlines the growing demand for methanol as a marine fuel, and the increasing industry acceptance of its role on the pathway to achieving a lower-emission future for the shipping sector.

Our fleet of methanol fuelled vessels have been in operation around the world for over 20 months and we are proud to be enabling others to gain valuable operational experience of using methanol as a marine fuel by time chartering Stena Provident and other ships in the fleet. The bunkering was made possible thanks to the collaboration with Bahri Chemicals and Colonial Terminals, and I am sure it marks the first of many methanol refuellings at the port”.

“We pride ourselves on the safe and efficient handling of our customers’ diverse mix of bulk products, as well as leading and supporting marketplace innovation,” said Ryan Chandler, President of Colonial Terminals.

“We are grateful to be included in this collaborative effort that supplied the first methanol bunkers in the Savannah market.”

Terence Collins, Director Chartering at Bahri Chemicals, said:  “We’d like to applaud our partners at Proman and Colonial Terminals for their expert handling of the inaugural methanol bunkering procedure in Savannah. We are quite sure this will be the first of many smooth and successful operations at the terminal not only for us, but for many other operators.”

Photo credit: Proman
Published: 22 March 2024