The Port of Amsterdam on Monday (19 May) said it hosted the first ship-to-ship methanol bunkering last week. 

At the TMA Logistics terminal in the Amerikahaven, the offshore installation vessel Boreas from Van Oord was supplied with 500 metric tonnes (mt) of ISCC-certified green methanol, delivered by the bunker vessel Chicago from Unibarge. The methanol was supplied by OCI HyFuels. 

Henri van der Weide, Clean Shipping Advisor at Port of Amsterdam, said: “We are pleased that Van Oord has chosen methanol. This makes them an important pioneer in the use of sustainable fuels in shipping.”

The Boreas is a newly built offshore installation vessel and the largest of its kind. It is the first ship of its kind that can operate on methanol, significantly reducing its ecological footprint. Advanced emission control technologies minimise NOₓ emissions, while a 6,000 kWh battery pack further reduces fuel consumption and emissions.

Jaap de Jong, Project Director at Van Oord, said: “We look forward to deploying this impressive vessel for our offshore wind projects and further advancing the transition to renewable energy.”

Port of Amsterdam is working on developing safety standards that enable the bunkering of alternative fuels in the Port of Amsterdam to achieve its aim to become a Multi Fuel Port. This includes LNG, hydrogen, ammonia, and now methanol.

Van der Weide, added: “We do this in collaboration with the Clean Marine Fuels Working Group, a working group within the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), which focuses on the preconditions ports need to support the energy transition in shipping. Together with this group, we have developed a safety checklist for bunkering operations.”

Alternative fuel bunkering is increasingly common in the port of Amsterdam. 

Van der Weide, explained: “For example, LNG bunkering has become business as usual for us. Several licensed LNG suppliers are active, and we have created an LNG bunker map based on external safety research, which shows where LNG bunkering can be safely conducted.” 

Hydrogen has also recently been bunkered in the port. But this was the first time a ship-to-ship green methanol bunkering took place. 

Explaining what was needed to ensure such bunkering is carried out safely, Van der Weide, said: “First, a licensed bunker operator who complies with IAPH safety standards. Additionally, we use a methanol bunkering checklist developed with the IAPH.”

“Finally, we as the port authority assess and designate a safe and suitable location or berth for the bunkering.”

Photo credit: Port of Amsterdam
Published: 21 May, 2025

Shipping giant CMA CGM on Saturday (17 May) said it has taken delivery of a new ​​methanol-powered 13,000 TEU container ship on 15 May. 

CMA CGM ARGON was built in Mokpo, South Korea by shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries. 

The vessel is the second in a series of 12 dual-fuel methanol vessels with a capacity of 13,000 TEUs with the first being CMA CGM IRON. 

“CMA CGM ARGON is part of a new series of containerships named after elements from the Mendeleev table — COBALT, PLATINUM, MERCURY, HELIUM, KRYPTON, THORIUM, OSMIUM, SILVER, COPPER and GOLD — to be progressively delivered in 2025 and 2026,” the company said in a social media post. 

“Their deployment reflects the strength of our long-term industrial partnerships and our ambition to decarbonise shipping at scale.”

Manifold Times previously reported CMA CGM IRON, the Group’s first dual-fuel methanol vessel, making its maiden call on 4 March at the Port of Singapore.

Related: New CMA CGM methanol dual-fuel containership makes maiden call in Singapore

Photo credit: CMA CGM
Published: 20 May, 2025

SIPG Energy Shanghai recently said it successfully completed a green methanol bunkering operation at Guandong Wharf of Yangshan Port on Sunday (11 May).

The company’s methanol bunkering vessel Hai Gang Zhi Yuan successfully refuelled container ship Antonia Maersk with 8,000 metric tonnes of methanol fuel in a simultaneous ship-to-ship bunkering and cargo operation.

The event marked a milestone in Shanghai Port’s efforts to establish a regular methanol fuel bunkering supply chain.

The total capacity of the Hai Gang Zhi Yuan is 16,000 cubic meters, which can meet the large-scale methanol fuel filling needs. The bunker vessel is reportedly the largest methanol bunkering ship currently in operation in China.

The advanced refuelling equipment on board has high-precision flow control, pressure regulation function and ESD response and other automated monitoring systems, which can monitor the liquid level, temperature, pressure and other parameters of methanol in real time, and build a solid safety line for filling operations in complex environments at night.

As a key link in the methanol fuel supply chain of Shanghai Port, Yangshan Shengang has advanced loading and unloading and storage facilities. 

The terminal is equipped with methanol loading and unloading arms and efficient conveying pipelines, which can quickly and safely unload methanol from transport ships to terminal storage tanks. 

The methanol storage facility with ISCC certification has a capacity of 140,000 m³ and adopts advanced sealing and temperature control technology to ensure the stability of methanol quality during storage.

SIPG Energy Shanghai is integrating upstream and downstream resources to build a methanol fuel resource pool and a full-chain methanol fuel supply system covering docks, storage, transportation and refueling operations, contributing to the establishment of the Shanghai Port Green Energy Hub. 

On 5 May, Hai Gang Zhi Yuan also reportedly refuelled container ship HMM Forest with 3,110 mt of green methanol in a simultaneous ship-to-ship bunkering and cargo operation at the Yangshan Phase IV Automated Terminal of Shanghai Port.

The domestically produced green methanol was produced in Inner Mongolia and transported to Shanghai Port by land and sea. It meets the ISCC-EU certification standards and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 70% over the entire life cycle.

Photo credit: SIPG Energy Shanghai
Published: 20 May, 2025