Integrated energy company MB Energy on Tuesday (1 September) said it has successfully completed a methanol bunkering trial for TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 7 at the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal in the Port of Kiel.

As part of this delivery, approximately 25 cubic metres of methanol from renewable feedstocks were supplied to the vessel. The fuel will be used primarily for boiler operations on board. 

The logistic company Johs. Martens, acting on behalf of MB Energy, handled the trucking and physical delivery of the methanol to the vessel at the terminal. 

By safely and reliably supplying methanol to a large passenger vessel with around 2,900 guests on board and multiple simultaneous operations at the pier, MB Energy and TUI Cruises have jointly demonstrated system readiness for this mode of delivery. 

“The operation shows that lower carbon fuels like methanol from renewable feedstocks can already be integrated into cruise operations in a safe and reliable way,” said Jonathan Perkins, CEO from MB Energy. 

“Together with TUI Cruises and our logistics partner Johs. Martens, we are proving that the infrastructure and expertise are in place to support carbon reduced ways of shipping.” 

The company said the methanol bunkering highlighted the company’s growing capabilities in handling methanol for major clients in northern Europe.

MB Energy is currently developing its storage infrastructure in Hamburg-Blumensand to be “methanol-ready”, enabling the supply of larger volumes of lower carbon ammonia and methanol to maritime customers in the future. 

Hamburg and Kiel will serve as the company’s primary operational hubs in northern Germany, with the flexibility and ambition to also supply other European ports. 

“By combining our own storage infrastructure with integrated logistics, we can offer customers a reliable and uninterrupted methanol supply,” adds Jonathan Perkins. 

“Our first bunkering with ‘Mein Schiff 7’ is a strong signal of what is possible when shipowners, ports and energy providers work together.” 

Jörg Umann, Director Strategic Planning, Treasury, IR and Fuel at TUI Cruises, said: “For TUI Cruises, this project provided valuable operational experience with the supply and handling of certified renewable methanol under real operating conditions. 

“While the methanol from renewable feedstocks supplied during this operation is used for boiler operations rather than propulsion, projects like this help us better understand how alternative fuels can contribute to reducing emissions as part of a broader carbon reduction strategy.”

Mabanaft Group was renamed to MB Energy last year and merged over 50 existing brands under one identity. 

Related: Mabanaft Group renames as MB Energy, merging over 50 brands under one identity

Photo credit: MB Energy
Published: 2 September, 2026

​International container transportation and logistics company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) on Friday (28 August) held the naming ceremony for OOCL Grace, the company’s second methanol dual-fuel container vessel.

The naming ceremony was held at the shipyard of Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co Ltd (NACKS). Annetta Duan, Global Logistics Director of Hayco Group, named OOCL Grace and bestowed her blessings upon the vessel in the presence of many guests.

OOCL Grace is the second of seven 24,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container vessels built by NACKS for OOCL. 

From the successful naming of the series’ first vessel, OOCL Wisdom, in May this year, to OOCL Wisdom completing its first green methanol bunkering and commencing its maiden voyage to Europe in July, and now the official debut of OOCL Grace, this series of currently the world’s largest methanol dual-fuel vessels is being completed and deployed in succession.

At the naming ceremony, Mr. Peter Pan, Director of Trades and Member of the Executive Committee of OOCL, said: “In a complex and ever-changing market environment, OOCL remains firmly committed to advancing the expansion, greening and digitalization of our fleet. 

“With the successive delivery of OOCL Grace and her sister vessels, we will continue to optimise our capacity deployment and network configuration, providing customers with higher-quality, more stable and sustainable logistics solutions, while playing an important role in connecting industries, markets and global trade.”

Photo credit: ​​Orient Overseas Container
Published: 31 August, 2026

South Korean firm EcoMethanol on Wednesday (26 August) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the supply of green methanol with Taebaek City, Hyundai Corporation, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean AS of Norway and EUKOR Car Carriers. 

The signing took place at EUKOR’s head office in Seoul.

EcoMethanol is the special purpose company set up by South Korean clean energy firm Plagen to build a green methanol plant in Taebaek, Gangwon State. 

Under the MoU, Hyundai Corporation will buy the methanol produced in Taebaek and sell it on to the two carriers, which will burn it as fuel in their own fleets. Taebaek City takes part as an equity co-investor and will provide administrative and policy support. Production, trading and end use are tied together in a single chain, the first such arrangement in Korea.

Manifold Times previously reported Taebaek City and Plagen signing an investment agreement for a new green methanol production plant in the South Korean city that will be supplied as bunker fuel.

The plant will produce 15,000 metric tonnes (mt) a year from forestry residues, using dual fluidized bed (DFB) gasification, a process already proven in commercial operation. Total investment is KRW 120 billion.

EcoMethanol holds Korea’s integrated environmental permit, has secured its site in the Dongjeom Industrial Complex and has completed basic design. Construction is due to start in December 2026 and commercial production in January 2029. The plant will employ 36 people locally.

Taebaek’s role as a production hub is written into both national and provincial plans. The Taebaek Jangseong Colliery Economic Revitalization Project cleared preliminary feasibility review in 2025 with a green methanol facility included in its scope, and Gangwon State lists a green methanol cluster in its mid- to long-term investment plan for former coal-mining regions. Dongjeom will be the first of these facilities to be built, because its industrial site is already developed.

Carbon regulation in shipping is no longer a prospect. The EU Emissions Trading System now covers maritime transport, the FuelEU Maritime regulation on greenhouse gas intensity is in force, and the International Maritime Organization is moving toward adoption of its Net-Zero Framework.

Korean carriers are already buying green methanol. HMM’s methanol-fueled container ships HMM Green and HMM Forest took on 2,900 mt and 3,110 mt at Yangshan Port in Shanghai in March and May 2025. 

The car carrier Arctic Tern, operated by EUKOR, loaded about 2,800 mt in Shanghai in July 2026 before starting commercial service on the Asia-Europe route. All of that fuel was made in China.

Korea produces none of its own. Ulsan Port was the first port anywhere to bunker green methanol for a ship, in 2023, but the fuel had been imported. 

Korea consumes roughly 2 million mt of methanol a year, most of it imported and made from fossil feedstock.

The Taebaek plant would be the country’s first domestic source of clean marine fuel.

Related: Korea: Taebaek City and PLAGEN to build green methanol bunker fuel plant

Photo credit: EcoMethanol
Published: 28 August, 2026