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Glander International Bunkering: Who will drive future bunker fuels demand – customer or supplier?

Race is now on for producers and consumers to work in tandem to develop future bunker markets and those that move fastest to guarantee supply and demand for the new fuels will reap the largest rewards.

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Global bunker trading firm Glander International Bunkering, which recently received ISCC EU and ISCC Plus certificates for its biofuel operations in Norway and Geneva offices, discusses the key question hanging over the maritime industry on what drivers are needed for a viable market in the various alternative bunker fuels to emerge at ports around the world:

The pace of change in the bunker industry is accelerating rapidly.

Where in the past, residual fuel oil remained the dominant bunker grade for decades, with only relatively minor adjustments to its viscosity and sulfur content, a wide range of new fuels is now emerging.

With the IMO now having announced that shipping’s GHG emissions will be reduced to net zero by about 2050, little doubt remains over whether these new fuels will come to overtake fossil bunkers in time.

Shipowners that find their solution to the decarbonisation puzzle, and implement their strategy early, will reap the rewards in the years to come.

But the key question hanging over the industry is, what drivers are needed for a viable market in the various alternative fuels to emerge at ports around the world?

Biofuels

The emergence of a biofuel bunker market will be – and to some extent has already been – an easier prospect than for other alternatives.

As a drop-in replacement for conventional bunker fuels, biofuel blends have significant advantages. 

Because they can run in today’s engines with only minor adjustments, they need little in the way of investment by either the supplier or customer; new ships and new delivery infrastructure are not needed.

When taking into account the full lifecycle of these fuels, they can deliver major GHG emission savings compared to fossil fuels, while remaining largely familiar in their chemical properties and quality considerations.

Shipowners have already been carrying out trials of biofuel blends at locations around the world to test their performance in marine engines, and little in the way of objections have emerged so far.

With demand already largely in place, the key challenge for this market is the development of supply. 

Therefore, biofuel suppliers will play a pivotal role in ensuring that biofuel blends become a widely adopted alternative fuel.

Suppliers for the maritime industry must understand the variety and suitability of feedstocks, their 

availability and compliance with IMO, EU and other regulations, and to develop competitive supply chains and the last-mile delivery of these low-carbon fuels to the relevant ports.

LNG

The history of LNG’s use as a marine fuel provides a clear picture of how suppliers and their customers working together can develop an alternative fuel’s supply chain and bring its market to maturity.

Gas-powered ships have been in operation for several decades now, but it has only been over the past ten years or so that LNG has emerged as a prominent alternative bunker fuel.

Ten years ago, presentations at marine fuel conferences on the advent of LNG bunkering invariably brought up the ‘chicken and egg problem’: the question of which should come first, demand for this alternative fuel or supply.

The issue at question was whether shipowners would consider purchasing gas-fuelled vessels before suppliers set in place LNG bunker delivery infrastructure, and vice-versa.

In the end, the chicken and egg made a simultaneous appearance. The biggest single event driving the emergence of the LNG bunker market was the announcement from French container line CMA CGM and energy producer Total that they would work together to develop both supply and demand.

In early 2017, the two French firms started to sign multi-year deals for LNG bunker supply, at the same time as CMA CGM was starting to make large gas-powered ship orders. The size of the arrangement was large enough to make it worth Total building a delivery vessel even if it would only end up serving CMA CGM’S boxships.

For this market, the next stage will be to develop similar deals for bio- and synthetic LNG. The ships running on and delivering fossil LNG today will be able to use these fuels already, but new production facilities will be needed.

Methanol and Ammonia

If supply chains are established effectively, green methanol and ammonia have great potential. These fuels require production facilities, tankers to transport them, delivery infrastructure and new ships capable of burning them.

An approach similar to that taken with LNG will be needed: producers and consumers need to make deals guaranteeing both supply and demand at around the same time.

Methanol is further along this path than ammonia. As it remains liquid at ambient temperature and pressure, existing storage facilities and delivery vessels require much lower retrofit costs and time to be prepared to carry methanol.

Building a dual-fuelled vessel capable of burning both methanol and conventional bunkers, rather than LNG or ammonia, should also be cheaper.

The approach of buyers collaborating with sellers to develop the market is already bearing fruit for methanol as a marine fuel, with container shipping company AP Moller-Maersk signing supply deals with a wide range of producers at the same time as ordering ships capable of methanol propulsion. Since these deals were announced, several more shipping companies have felt the confidence to order methanol-fuelled tonnage, and data from classification society DNV show methanol-fuelled ship orders have outnumbered those of gas-powered tonnage for several months over the past year.

The ammonia bunker market is at an earlier stage, with much more research and development work into how to handle ammonia’s toxicity needed first. Here, an intervention from local regulators and port authorities may be needed before the market can take off: a declaration from an authority the size of Singapore’s MPA that ammonia bunkering can be safely carried out in the city-state’s waters would do much to kick-start this market’s development.

But ammonia remains widely assumed to become one of the largest marine energy carriers towards the middle of this century, despite its toxicity and the higher infrastructure costs associated with its chemical properties; the lack of carbon in its molecule remains highly attractive, a property not shared by any of the other alternative fuel options.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it’s not going to be the chicken or the egg that comes first with the more expensive alternative bunker fuel markets: the regulations precede everything.

With the IMO’s 2050 net zero target and the EU’s emissions trading system and FuelEU Maritime regulation now adopted, the shipping industry has been given clear instructions to extricate itself from fossil fuel consumption.

The race is now on for producers and consumers to work in tandem to develop the bunker markets of the future. Those that move fastest to guarantee supply and demand for the new fuels will reap the largest rewards.

 

Photo credit: Glander International Bunkering
Published: 6 September, 2023

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Winding up

Singapore: Annual general meetings scheduled for Xihe Holdings subsidiaries

Development includes Da Xin Tankers, Dong Sheng Tankers, Dong Ya Tankers and Hua Zhong Shipping; meetings will be held electronically on 7 and 8 May, according to Government Gazette notices.

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RESIZED Drew Beamer

Several notices were published on the Government Gazette on Tuesday (22 April) regarding the annual general meetings of the companies and creditors to be held electronically on 22 April for Xihe Holdings subsidiaries.

The subsidiaries are Dong Sheng Tankers Pte Ltd, Da Xin Tankers Pte Ltd, Dong Ya Tankers Pte Ltd, and Hua Zhong Shipping Pte Ltd.

Annual general meeting for Dong Sheng Tankers are to be held on 8 May at the following times:

For the company: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Da Xin Tankers are to be held on 7 May at the following times:

For the company: 10am
For the creditors: 11am

Annual general meetings for Dong Ya Tankers are to be held on 8 May at the following times:

For the company: 10am
For the creditors: 11am

Annual general meetings for Hua Zhong Shipping are to be held on 7 May at the following times:

For the company: 2pm
For the creditors: 3pm

The agenda for all the meetings are:

  • To receive an update on the liquidation. 
  • To receive an account of the Liquidators’ acts and dealings, and of the conduct of the winding up

Manifold Times previously reported on the winding up of Da Xin Tankers, Dong Ya Tankers and Hua Zhong Shipping Pte Ltd and the appointment of the joint and several liquidators of the firms. 

Related: Singapore: Da Xin Tankers, Dong Ya Tankers, Hua Zhong Shipping to be wound up

 

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 23 April, 2025

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LNG Bunkering

Osaka Gas launches shore-to-ship LNG bunkering service at its terminal

Company says it is the first gas utility company in Japan to offer LNG bunker fuel at its terminal to vessels and is also exploring the potential of replacing LNG with e-methane as a marine fuel.

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Osaka Gas launches shore-to-ship LNG bunkering service at its terminal

Osaka Gas on Monday (21 April) said it has launched its shore-to-ship LNG bunkering service, becoming the first gas utility company in Japan to offer liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its terminal to vessels.

The first delivery took place today at Osaka Gas’ Senboku LNG Terminal in Takaishi City, Osaka Prefecture, where LNG was supplied to Verde Heraldo, a bulker operated by Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL). 

Manifold Times previously reported that the bulker will sail under long-term transport contracts to supply raw materials for JFE Steel Corporation's mills. 

With the launch of the shore-to-ship service, in addition to its existing truck-to-ship LNG bunkering service—operational since 2019—Osaka Gas enhances its LNG fuel delivery capabilities to address the current scarcity of facilities in Japan that can supply LNG to vessels. 

The company’s future plans include the introduction of a ship-to-ship LNG bunkering service utilising a dedicated LNG bunkering vessel, scheduled to commence in fiscal 2026.

These supply methods aim to provide a stable and flexible LNG fuel supply to an increasing number of LNG-fuelled vessels as the maritime industry transitions away from heavy fuel oil.

This growth in LNG-fuelled vessels is driven by global decarbonisation trends and the International Maritime Organization’s target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Through its LNG bunkering services, Osaka Gas is well-positioned to contribute to maritime industry sustainability.

Osaka Gas launches shore-to-ship LNG bunkering service at its terminal

In addition to expanding LNG fuel supply to vessels, Osaka Gas is exploring the potential of replacing LNG with e-methane as a marine fuel. 

Related: New MOL vessel to be supplied LNG bunker fuel in Japan before voyage to Australia

 

Photo credit: Osaka Gas
Published: 23 April, 2025

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Alternative Fuels

Japan: J-ENG begins co-firing of first full-scale marine engine with ammonia

Company says the first Japanese-developed and manufactured commercial full-scale, low-speed, ammonia-fuelled two-stroke engine has started co-firing operation with ammonia.

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Japan: J-ENG begins co-firing of first full-scale marine engine with ammonia

Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) on Monday (21 April) said the first Japanese-developed and manufactured commercial full-scale, low-speed, ammonia-fuelled two-stroke engine has started co-firing operation with ammonia, which will be installed in a vessel. 

J-ENG is developing the engine under the “Green Innovation Fund Project: Next-generation Ship Development” of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). 

Since May 2023, when J-ENG started the world's first ammonia co-firing operation of a large, low-speed, two-stroke engine in a test engine, J-ENG has obtained many results and knowledge, including stable operation at high ammonia co-firing rates and safe handling of ammonia, through various test operations over a period of about a year and a half. 

J-ENG will conduct verification operations on the full-scale engine and plans to ship the engine in October of this year. The engine will be installed on an Ammonia-fuelled Medium Gas Carrier (AFMGC) and then demonstration operations of the vessel will be carried out then.

In order to accommodate a wide variety of ammonia-fueled vessels, J-ENG is also concurrently developing an ammonia-fueled engine with a cylinder bore of 60cm, following the first engine with a 50cm cylinder bore mentioned above, for several promising follow-on projects.

Furthermore, after achieving the development and social implementation of these engines, the company has decided to construct a new plant with the support of a subsidy project by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism through the GX Economic Transition Bonds. 

The new plant, which is scheduled for completion in 2028, will expand the production of ammonia fuel engines (in the product mix with fuel oil engines) and promote the spread and expansion of zero-emission ships.

“J-ENG, as a first mover of next-generation fuel engines, will contribute to the development of the Japanese shipping and shipbuilding industries through the early launch and expansion of these engines, and at the same time, contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) in international shipping and the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050,” the company said on its website.

 

Photo credit: Japan Engine Corporation
Published: 23 April, 2025

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