Business

Argus Media: Fuel oil bunkering to linger despite new GHG rule

IMO revised greenhouse gas regulation for marine fuel will dent residual fuel oil demand, but the market could persist on demand from oil tanker and dry bulk vessel owners.

Published

1 year ago

August 2, 2023

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The International Maritime Organisation (IMO)'s revised greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation for marine fuel will dent residual fuel oil demand, but the market could persist on demand from oil tanker and dry bulk vessel owners, and on production from decarbonised petroleum refineries.

1 August 2023

The IMO in July changed its marine fuel emissions directive from emissions from combustion (tank-to-wake) to lifecycle emissions (well-to-wake). Before that decision, ship owners were looking to mitigate emissions from fuel combustion only. Some were mulling installing sulphur oxide (SOx) and CO2-capturing scrubbers on board of their vessels, continuing to burn high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), and paying to dispose of the captured CO2. Following the IMO July ruling, ship owners also have to take into consideration well-to-tank emissions generated during refinery production and transportation of the fuel to a bunkering port.

IMO members agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20pc, and preferably 30pc, by 2030; by at least 70pc, and preferably 80pc, by 2040; and to net zero by 2050, from 2008 base levels. If ship owners are able to dispose of their on-board captured CO2 and oil refiners can decarbonise their refineries at costs below the price of sustainable marine fuels, then residual fuel oil and marine gasoil (MGO) for bunkering demand could persist past 2040. Oil tanker and dry bulk carrier owners will likely be the two types of vessel owners to continue to burn fuel oil and MGO. They do not have the same customer and shareholder pressures to decarbonise compared with their counterparts from the container ship and cruise ship sectors.

Container shipping companies — including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express, CMA-CGM, Matson, and Evergreen — and cruise ship companies — including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise and Carnival — had pledged net zero emissions by 2050, even before the IMO rule change. These companies have been actively exploring the use of biofuels and are commissioning methanol-burning, methanol-ready and ammonia-ready vessels. Their investors and clients are likely to dismiss the idea of well-to-wake carbon-neutral fuel oil and MGO as a form of green washing and vote with their dollars to continue the course of sustainable fuels.

Container ships, bulk carriers and tankers were the biggest marine fuel consuming vessel categories. Internationally, containerships burned 61.7mn t residual fuel oil and MGO, while bulk carriers burned 57.9mn t and tankers burned 41.4mn t. Those volumes represent 31pc, 29pc and 21pc, respectively, of fuel oil and MGO demand, according to the latest IMO data, from 2021. Cruise ships burned 3.2mn t, or 2pc. IMO's marine fuel data collection system takes into account ships above 5,000 gross tonnes.

On a tank-to-wake basis, HSFO and very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) emit 3.114 grams of CO2 per gram of fuel (gCO2/g fuel) burned, according to IMO's guidelines on lifecycle greenhouse gas intensity of marine fuels. On a well-to-tank basis, HSFO emits 0.599 gCO2/g fuel and VLSFO emits 0.675 gCO2/g fuel, for total well-to-wake emissions of 3.713 and 3.789 gCO2/g fuel, respectively. MGO emits about 0.756 gCO2/g from well-to-tank and 3.206 gCO2/g from tank-to-wake for total of about 3.962 gCO2/g well-to-wake.

In July, carbon-free fuels such as B100 biodiesel, bio-methanol, green hydrogen and green ammonia were priced at 2, 4.4, 4.6 and 4.9 times the price of VLSFO in northwest Europe, Argus assessments showed.

By Stefka Wechsler

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 2 August, 2023

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Bunker Fuel

SIBCON 2024: EnterpriseSG to launch new Singapore standard for e-BDN

EnterpriseSG, through the Singapore Standards Council, will launch a new Singapore Standard 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

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SIBCON 2024: New Singapore standard on digital bunkering to be launched

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), will launch a new Singapore Standard (SS) 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation, according to Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Wednesday (9 October).

MPA said the new standard will ensure data consistency and interoperability between digital systems and facilitate smoother transactions through trusted and verifiable digital bunkering documents.

This comes following Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Ministry of Transport, announcing that from 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers will be required to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs) as a default.

The move was decided following successful pilots conducted since 1 November 2023 with bunker suppliers, including the top 10 bunker players, in Singapore.

To further enhance transparency and transaction integrity in bunkering operations, MPA will also introduce a centralised e-BDN record verification facility. This enables key stakeholders to verify the e-BDN received against the information transmitted to MPA.

EnterpriseSG has also launched the revised Singapore Standard (SS) 648 Code of Practice for Bunker Mass Flow Metering to include data integrity and transmission requirements in line with this new digital standard.

In the first eight months of 2024, MPA said Singapore saw strong growth of approximately 7% in total bunker sales over the same period last year, reaching over 36 million tonnes. Biofuels and liquefied natural gas bunker sales surpassed 700,00 metric tonnes.

To support the operationalisation of a higher mix of low-carbon alternative fuels, both EnterpriseSG and MPA are developing the Singapore standards for methanol bunkering and ammonia bunkering by 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The standards will cover custody transfer requirements, safety procedures and crew competencies, to ensure safe bunkering operations and handling of these fuels.

MPA also announced that three major shipping lines — Hafnia, K-Line, and MOL — are in early discussions to join the Singapore - Port of Los Angeles (LA)- Port of Long Beach (LB) Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) initiative.

Each partner would be expected to spearhead a project to advance the corridor’s decarbonisation and digitalisation goals, such as the adoption of net-zero fuels, Just-in-Time route optimisation, and energy efficiency technologies such as wind-assisted ship propulsion.

The addition of the new partners will significantly strengthen the GDSC’s capacity to drive innovation in sustainable shipping practices and accelerate the adoption of zero/near-zero emission fuels and green technologies along the corridor.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 10 October, 2024

Alternative Fuels

SIBCON 2024: SGMF releases methanol and ammonia bunkering guidelines

SFMF published Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia; also revealed new brand to reflect four key future marine fuels.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: SGMF releases methanol and ammonia bunkering guidelines

SGMF on Wednesday (9 October) announced the release of the Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia.

During the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON), SGMF also revealed its new brand reflecting the organisation’s current activities in the four key marine fuels for the future: LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen.

SGMF is a membership-based organisation leading safe maritime decarbonisation with members across the full value chain of marine fuels, including suppliers, operators, owners, equipment manufacturers, class societies, port authorities, individuals and training organisations.

While the search for the perfect alternative fuel continues, SGMF said methanol and ammonia are two of the fuels that the global merchant fleet has identified and is looking to implement, emphasising the importance of these guidelines.

Methanol – With the first vessels already running on methanol, and many more on order, methanol is ahead of the curve in terms of adoption. It has also overtaken regulation, meaning that these early adopters are having to put forward safety solutions that have not yet been documented, and bunker suppliers using existing chemical carriers are trying to second guess what conversion and equipment may be needed to make their vessels physically compatible with the ships being produced. These methanol bunkering guidelines have been published as a first draft to highlight the key safety factors that need to be considered when designing and bunkering a vessel of any type with methanol.

Ammonia – Despite ammonia (NH3) not yet being commercially available as a marine fuel, this bunkering document provides guidance to all the stakeholders currently investigating and developing the bunkering of ships with fully refrigerated (-33°C) ammonia.

A range of potential hazards are expected with bunkering ammonia and to date there is very limited experience, with only one series of bunkering trials conducted as at March 2024.

As a result, Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia draws primarily on the current experience of LNG bunkering, the wider ammonia marine transport industry and the shoreside ammonia production and transport industry experience.

“The overall aim of these guidelines is therefore to ensure that ammonia-fuelled ships are bunkered safely, reliably, efficiently and in an environmentally responsible way, targeting the avoidance of operational or fugitive emissions of ammonia,” SGMF added.

These publications have been compiled with extensive input from the SGMF membership, as well as with collaborative support from the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS).

Note: The bunkering guidelines are available in the shop on SGMF portal and the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia can be downloaded through its free resources section.

Photo credit: SGMF
Published: 10 October, 2024

Technology

SIBCON 2024: TFG Marine to launch ZeroNorth e-BDNs in Singapore

‘We are excited to work with providers such as ZeroNorth to roll out eBDNs to our customers, not only in Singapore but across our global operations,’ says Kenneth Dam, TFG Marine Global Head of Bunkering.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: TFG Marine to launch ZeroNorth e-BDNs in Singapore

TFG Marine (TFG), the international marine fuel joint venture founded by Trafigura, Frontline and Golden Ocean, on Wednesday (9 October) said it will introduce ZeroNorth’s electronic bunker delivery notes (eBDNs) solution for its customers in Singapore by the end of the year.

Kenneth Dam, TFG Marine Global Head of Bunkering, made the announcement during the International Trade and Fuel Market Trends panel discussion at the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON).

Dam said: “We are excited to work with providers such as ZeroNorth to roll out eBDNs to our customers, not only in Singapore but across our global operations.”

“This technology will help digitalise the bunker delivery process, reduce administrative burdens, enhance digital documentation, and contribute to a smarter, more connected bunkering sector.”

“We are committed to advocating for the adoption of eBDNs as a global standard for bunker fuel delivery.”

The fully digital solution, accessible through TFG Marine’s mobile app and integrated with SGTraDex digital infrastructure, will enable the inclusion of additional data, such as mass flow meter readings during fuel deliveries.

“This will drive substantial improvements in efficiency, accuracy, compliance, and sustainability across operations, complementing our global mass flow meter global rollout across our fleet and ensuring TFG Marine remains at the forefront of the bunkering industry,” the firm added.

Photo credit: TFG Marine
Published: 10 October, 2024