Australia: Viva Energy and Royal Caribbean Group enter B20 marine biofuel trial

Australia-listed conglomerate Viva Energy on Wednesday (30 April) said it has started a marine biofuel trial with Royal Caribbean Group’s Celebrity Edge at Sydney on 5 April; the first of such involving a commercial cruise ship in Australia.

The trial aims to evaluate the performance and carbon reduction benefits of marine biofuel, designated as B20, which consists of 80% marine distillate and 20% locally sourced B100, primarily derived from Australian used cooking oil.

It also provides a unique opportunity to assess the low-carbon fuel’s performance, supported by Viva Energy’s extended marine supply chain in Port Jackson. This supply chain, underpinned by barge assets operated in collaboration with Polaris Marine, demonstrated the operational feasibility of delivering sustainable fuels to the maritime industry.

“We are very pleased to conduct this trial with Royal Caribbean Group from our Sydney Harbour operations, a first-of-its-kind operation to deliver marine biofuel to a cruise ship in Australia,” said Richard Xin, Viva Energy’s General Manager Specialities, Marine & Defence.

“Viva Energy is committed to supporting our customers in reducing their carbon footprint by introducing new fuels and innovative supply chains. While the supply of biofuel is not new internationally, this trial is a crucial step towards establishing lower carbon marine fuels in Australia.”

The B100 component of the biofuel was International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC+) certified, which guarantees the provenance of the product, ensuring customers can trace and verify its carbon emission credentials. The B100 was manufactured locally by Just Biodiesel.

Photo credit: Viva Energy
Published: 2 May 2025