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Clean tech makes every drop of fuel count, says Simon Potter of Houlder

Clean technologies will complement low and zero carbon fuels and such techs are needed to create zero-carbon ship of the future and to reduce costs in the short term and long term.

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The following is an article written by Simon Potter, Director of Sustainability Advisory to marine engineering consultancy Houlder elaborating the importance of the shipping industry to focus on both clean technologies and future fuels to meet CII, impact the existing fleet now, and ensure less energy-dense future fuels get a helping hand. The article was shared with Singapore-based bunkering publication Manifold Times:

Carbon Intensity Indicator

The shipping industry is witnessing a period of deeply impacting regulation that will require major investment and technological innovation. For example, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulations coming into effect in January 2023, will have a significant impact on owners, operators and maritime operations more broadly. 

There is a real and present risk of unintended consequences emerging from the implementation of CII. The new regulations may encourage the majority of the industry to do little but slow steam and wait for alternative fuels to emerge at scale, rather than invest in the plethora of innovative, commercially ready clean technologies.

While slow steaming to reduce fuel use is better than not acting at all, it is a pessimistic approach. Strategies such as slowing steaming reduce the capacity of the existing fleet, making the challenge of vessel replacement even bigger as worldwide cargo demand continues to grow. Perversely these strategies themselves make the need for energy efficiency and renewable and sustainable propulsion (clean) technology even more important; if the global fleet needs to grow, so too will greenhouse gas emissions. 

It is important that owners and operators do not continue to overlook the ‘quick wins’ – especially to the current fleet – that clean technology represents. The existing global fleet is worth over $1 trillion and therefore must not be ignored. A big chunk of that cost sits on bank balance sheets, which constitutes significant risk if these assets are not managed properly through the industry’s decarbonisation. 

Shipowners need to integrate available clean technologies into their roadmap to immediately drop emissions and fuel consumption while alternative fuels continue to scale up. This also offers the current fleet an opportunity to keep pace with the rapidly accelerating environmental objectives coming from regulators, the market and the end consumer.

A package of solutions

When looking at clean technology and new fuels, It’s not a question of choosing one over the other. Clean technologies will complement low and zero carbon fuels, and we need them to create the zero-carbon ship of the future and to reduce costs in the short term and long term. 

We already have a huge range of options that complement future fuels and reduce carbon emissions. These include wind propulsion, air lubrication, battery energy storage, hull coating technology, hydrodynamic energy saving devices, and voyage optimisation software, to name a few.

At Houlder, we believe there is no single best energy efficiency solution for CII compliance or for shipowners looking to proactively control their own decarbonisation agenda. There are a multitude of clean technologies that can be deployed today, but it is critically important to determine how they can be packaged together for the greatest effect and to achieve the best return on investment.

It is important to research your options in detail. For example, North Star Shipping (NSS) commissioned a comprehensive study to help develop of a greenhouse gas reduction strategy across its fleet of over 40 vessels. An expert team first established the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon intensity of the current fleet and its operations before identifying the most suitable technologies and operational measures to reduce carbon emissions. This includes defining the cost, benefits and timeline for implementation of these technologies.

Every drop counts

It becomes increasingly clear that all low and zero-carbon alternative fuels will be more expensive and less energy-dense than current oil-based fuels – meaning the unequivocal rationale for investment in clean technologies only strengthens further. Any technology that can improve fuel efficiency and can make less potent fuels go further is a valuable asset. 

Regulation may be setting milestones in the shipping industry’s decarbonisation journey, but the damage done by our carbon emissions is cumulative and won’t be reversed by future fuels. The reality is that most new fuels will not be residual, commoditised products for decades – especially for smaller ship owners and operators – and waiting is not an option. Every drop of fuel saved right now matters, and all measures taken now to reduce emissions through clean technologies provide owners with a more optimised path forward towards full decarbonisation in the future. 

Effective decarbonisation strategies must encompass widespread considerations from regulatory requirements and environmental and social governance to green financing, naval architecture and engineering. What’s clear is that adopting the right clean technology today – in combination with an alternative fuels strategy – makes commercial and environmental sense.

 

Photo credit: Houlder
Published: 30 September, 2022

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Methanol

Chimbusco completes bunkering op of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

“COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU” was supplied approximately 900 metric tonnes of methanol marine fuel by Chimbusco in Shanghai on 11 May.

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Chimbusco completes bunkering of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co Ltd (Chimbusco) completed a bunkering operation of the first domestically manufactured methanol dual-fuel container ship in Shanghai on 11 May, according to COSCO Shipping on Thursday (15 May). 

COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU was supplied approximately 900 metric tonnes (mt) of methanol marine fuel by Chimbusco at Pier 1 of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry. 

The operation started on 7 May but was postponed due to unfavourable weather from the Jianghuai Cyclone.

Chimbusco completes bunkering of China’s first 16,000K TEU methanol DF boxship

COSCO Shipping said the operation marked an important achievement in green and low-carbon transformation in shipping, from ship construction and ecological layout of the entire green fuel industry chain of the company. 

Manifold Times previously reported the naming ceremony of China’s first 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship, COSCO SHIPPING YANGPU in Yangzhou.

The methanol dual-fuel container ship named was the first in a series of vessels from COSCO Shipping Holdings, constructed by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Yangzhou. 

Related: COSCO Shipping names China’s first 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship

 

Photo credit: Cosco Shipping
Published: 23 May, 2025

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LNG Bunkering

Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Milestone was achieved by Shell’s LNG bunker barge “Haugesund Knutsen” supplying the “Mein Schiff Relax” cruise ship at Port of Barcelona, says Dexter Belmar of Shell.

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Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Energy giant Shell recently conducted its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona, according to Dexter Belmar, General Manager and Head of Global Downstream LNG on Thursday (22 May).

He said the milestone was achieved by Shell’s LNG bunker barge Haugesund Knutsen supplying the Mein Schiff Relax cruise ship.

“Barcelona, one of Europe and the Mediterranean’s leading cruise ports, is also a key LNG bunkering location for Shell as we help more cruise ships transition to lower-emission fuels,” he said in a social media post. 

“A huge thank you to Royal Caribbean Group for their trust, and to Knutsen and Port of Barcelona for their collaboration in making this bunkering safe and efficient.”

Shell wraps up its first LNG bunkering operation for TUI Cruises in Barcelona

Belmar said LNG is leading the way as the preferred alternative bunker fuel in the cruise industry. 

“At Shell, we’re proud to support LNG fuelling needs at 26 locations worldwide, including major cruise ports like Bahamas, Barcelona, Canaveral, Everglades, Jamaica, Miami, Singapore, Southampton, and Tenerife,” he added. 

 

Photo credit: Shell
Published: 23 May, 2025

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LNG Bunkering

IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

LNG bunkering fleet is concentrated in Europe with the highest capacity of operational bunkering vessels, followed by Asia/Asia Pacific and North America, according to 2025 World LNG report by IGU.

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IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

The global operational LNG bunkering and bunkering-capable small-scale vessel fleet reached 56 units at the end of December 2024 with further support from expanding infrastructure and regulatory drivers such as the IMO’s ban of heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping and the EU’s FuelEU Maritime regulation.

This was nine more vessels than in 2023, with a total added capacity of 82,900 cubic metres (m3). 

This was one of the major highlights in the 2025 World LNG report by the International Gas Union (ICU), which was launched at the 29th World Gas Conference (WGC2025) in Beijing on Thursday (22 May). 

IGU report: Global LNG bunkering fleet grows to 56 operational vessels by 2024

The LNG bunkering fleet is concentrated in Europe with the highest capacity of operational bunkering vessels. This is followed by Asia/Asia Pacific and then North America, both of which have seen rapid expansions in the past five years. 

As of the end of 2024, Europe has the highest bunkering capacity, with a total of 190,757 cm across 25 vessels currently in operation within the region. 

Asia/Asia Pacific has the second-highest bunkering capacity, with a total of 179,700 m3 across 17 vessels in operation. From that, China currently has five operational LNG bunkering vessels while South Korea currently provides STS bunkering services with four bunkering vessels. Singapore currently has three bunkering vessels in operation. 

North America continued its progress toward becoming a significant region in the LNG bunkering market in 2024, reaching a total capacity of 86,400 m3 across 10 operational vessels by year-end.

The report noted: “2024 was a significant year for LNG bunkering. Bunker users were quick to capture the reductions in both fuel costs and carbon emissions from using LNG, taking advantage of lower LNG prices relative to other marine fuels in 2024. Lower prices and an emerging LNG-fuelled fleet were catalysts in the large uptake in LNG bunker volumes.”

The Port of Singapore, which is the largest bunkering port in the world, recorded 463,900 tonnes of LNG bunkered in 2024, almost four times the 110,900 tonnes in 2023. The Port of Rotterdam, the second-largest bunkering port in the world, also recorded a 52% increase in bunkered LNG, from 620,000 cm in 2023 to 941,366 cm in 2024.”

IGU also said the newcomer in STS LNG bunkering is the Middle East with the LNG bunkering vessel Green Zeebrugge.

“The ship moved at the end of 2024 to Dubai and has performed the first ever LNG bunkering in the Middle East. This area is identified as a potential new LNG bunkering hub with Oman, the UAE, and Qatar as the main bunkering locations.”

Note: The ‘2025 World LNG Report’ can be downloaded here

 

Photo credit: International Gas Union
Published: 23 May, 2025

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