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Maersk: Shanghai poised to become world’s leading global green shipping centre

Robert Maersk Uggla shares firm’s recommendations for Shanghai to be a top green shipping centre including working closely with industry players to plan green fuel bunkering facilities.

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A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) on Tuesday (17 October) shared its recommendations for green transformation and decarbonisation of the shipping industry in Shanghai, according to the Methanol Institute CEO Gregory Dolan on 18 October. 

Dolan said the 35th Shanghai Mayors International Advisory Conference (IBLAC) was successfully held yesterday. After three years of online meetings, the members of the City Advisory Committee reunited in Shanghai to feel the changes in the city while providing suggestions for the development of Shanghai.

​Under the theme of "Change and New Opportunities: Accelerating the Construction of a More Dynamic and Resilient International Metropolis”, Robert Maersk Uggla, Chairman of the Board of A.P. Moller-Maersk, was invited to participate in the meeting and share Maersk's recommendations on green transformation and decarbonisation of the industry.

“Many port cities worldwide have ambitions and plans to transform into green shipping centres, and Shanghai is uniquely positioned to be a first mover and a leading global green shipping centre. Shanghai is home to the world's largest container port, and with green fuel supplies and infrastructure in place, many of the green-fuel ships ordered today will naturally be deployed in Shanghai,” Uggla said. 

In this regard, Maersk made the following recommendations:

First, working closely with industry players to plan green fuel bunkering facilities in parallel with other leading global ports such as Rotterdam and Singapore, including the required storage facilities and bunkering #vessels for efficient simultaneous operation of ships (SIMOPS).

Secondly, it is consistent with international custom and usage regarding safety criteria and operating procedures (SOPs).

Third, assess tax regulations to ensure the supply of green methanol produced or imported in China is competitive.

Finally, consider developing a shipping decarbonisation plan similar to the EU ETS and creating incentives for using green fuels to drive investment in green methanol production in China.

Uggla stressed that the production of green fuels and green chemicals will be one of the largest industrial development opportunities in China's history. 

“To produce 100 million tonnes of green methanol requires an investment of up to USD 500 billion, which will benefit producers, renewable energy source and hydrogen energy developers, and other players in the value chain,” he said.

“In September this year, Maersk's world's first green methanol vessel was named and put into operation. In addition, the Company's first batch of ultra-large green methanol-fuelled vessels will be delivered in early 2024, and nearly 200 green methanol-fuelled vessels have been ordered and retrofitted globally.”

“We hope the green methanol made in China will be ready by then and that the green methanol refuelling infrastructure in Shanghai Port will be complete. To our knowledge, Shanghai has made significant progress in these areas and we are confident that Shanghai will be ready for a new generation of green ship services and become the world's leading green shipping centre.”

Manifold Times previously reported Maersk signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) on strategic cooperation for Shanghai Port methanol marine fuel project.

The two parties will join hands to explore green methanol fuel vessel-to-vessel bunkering operation after Maersk’s green methanol container vessels are delivered in 2024.

Related: Maersk and Shanghai International Port ink deal on green methanol bunkering

Photo credit: The Methanol Institute
Published: 18 October, 2023

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Methanol

VPS examines methanol as a marine fuel for decarbonisation

Steve Bee of VPS explores methanol’s potential as a bunker fuel, the challenges ahead, industry standards to support its usage and VPS’s role in supporting this transition.

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Steve Bee, Commercial Director of marine fuels testing company VPS, on Tuesday (3 December) explored methanol's potential as a marine fuel, the challenges ahead, industry standards to support its usage and VPS's role in supporting this transition: 

Introduction

It’s very apparent, global shipping’s drive to decarbonise is well underway. The ship-building profile is changing dramatically, highlighted by the 2023 order book showing 539 new builds capable of running on low-to-zero carbon fuels, being ordered. This equates to 45% of all orders in terms of gross tonnage. LNG dual-fuel vessels are currently the most popular vessels of choice, but Methanol-capable vessels have gained traction. Looking at Jan-Sept 2024, 49% of the gross tonnage on order was for vessels configured to be alternative fuels ready, with this specific order book growing by 24% year on year. It’s obvious that shipping is keeping its options very much open and looking for as much flexibility as possible, when it comes to the fuel choices for its ships.

The industry currently bunkers 230 Million mt of fuel per year. Burning this fuel equates to emissions of 716M mt of CO2-equivalent, as the majority of the fuel burnt continues to be traditional fossil fuels. However, the list of environmental legislation and directives to reduce emissions from shipping is ever-increasing in order to reduce SOx, NOx, Particulate Matter, CO2, Methane and other Green House Gases.  It is this regulatory demand which is driving the developments of numerous alternative low-to-zero carbon fuels for marine use.

VPS has been and continues to be, at the forefront of fuels research & development and continues to pioneer and develop test methods for such fuels.

Methanol bunkers and bunkering facilities are growing with 13 ports now offering methanol. But this methanol is predominantly grey, and Tank-to-Wake emissions from grey methanol are similar to conventional fossil fuels. The maritime sector must look to use the sustainable “green” methanol options of e-methanol, bio-methanol, or blue methanol:

VPS examines methanol as a marine fuel for decarbonisation

IRENA forecast e-methanol will reach a production level of 250M mt and bio-methanol will reach 135M mt by 2050. 

Currently we see 39 methanol-powered ships on our sees, but a further 262 are on order.

As with all fuels, there are numerous pro’s and con’s to using methanol as a marine fuel: 

Methanol fuel handling and management is certainly easier than that for LNG, with retrofit costs being less expensive and easier. Plus, green methanol sources offer almost near-zero GHG emissions.

In terms of ECA compliance Methanol conforms to SOx, NOx and PM content. It is biodegradable, miscible with water and a liquid at atmospheric pressure, all of which are positive factors in terms of fuel management and handling.

As demand grows, methanol should become more cost competitive, with increasing number of ports providing methanol.

However, methanol has half the energy of maritime’s current fossil fuels and a Flash Point of only 12ºC. Current availability of green methanol, is still an issue, yet this year industry news has highlighted that some green methanol projects have been cancelled, eg one in Antwerp (Orsted) and Flagship-One in Sweden.

Over the past 2 years, VPS have made significant investments in CAPEX for new laboratory equipment, plus the training of laboratory staff, technical advisors and bunker quantity surveyors, in order to survey, sample and test methanol bunkers.

The summer of 2023 saw VPS act the partner of choice to Maersk and undertook work during the maiden voyage of the Laura Maersk. We surveyed, sampled and tested, the methanol loadings in Singapore, Port Said and Rotterdam. As part of the requirements, changes to bunkering practices and procedures included heightened H&S processes, increased levels of tank cleaning, the use of closed-sampling devices and the use of biofuel as the pilot fuel, which also required testing. Testing was under the International Methanol Producers and Consumers Association (IMPCA) specification, with the results all on specification from all three loadings.

Since then, VPS has also worked with OCI covering similar work on the ECO Maestro.

In October 2024, it was announced at SIBCON-24, that Singapore will release a new technical reference standard for Methanol before year end, which covers fuel transfer, quality and quantity measurements as well operational and safety instructions as well as crew training. VPS has been closely involved in the development of this new Methanol Standard by being part of the Working Group.

This same group will also release a similar standard for Ammonia in 2025.

The announcement from Singapore was followed by a further notification from the International Standards Organisation (ISO) in November 2024. The ISO announcement highlighted the release of the publication of the first edition of their international standard for methanol as marine fuel, ISO 6583:2024.  This standard sets the requirements and limits for three methanol grades for marine: MMA, MMB and MMC. It uses the IMPCA specifications as a starting point, with some properties less critical for marine and other fuel related aspects not covered. Grade MMC allows for wider tolerances in certain characteristics compared to MMB, while MMA includes additional requirements for lubricity and cleanliness. The new Singapore Methanol Standard will make reference to the ISO 6583 for quality requirements under its custody transfer section.

Summary

As decarbonisation and legislation drives the development of low-to-zero carbon fuels, demand for methanol will grow as it provides an excellent way to achieve immediate reductions of emissions compared to fossil fuels.

VPS are experienced in providing methanol surveying, sampling and testing work and capable of offering key technical support to our customers.

All of this is evidence that the global shipping industry is well on its way and intent on delivering upon its decarbonisation goals, but with many challenges still to overcome.

Related: SIBCON 2024: Singapore launches two new bunkering standards, revises third benchmark
Related: ISO publishes international standard for methanol as a marine fuel

 

Photo credit: VPS
Published: 4 December, 2024

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Events

Argus Media organises Green Marine Fuels Asia Conference in Singapore

Conference will explore Argus’ global analysis on alternative bunker fuels, LNG benefits in the net zero pathway, global clean fuel policy and regulation, and growing demand of biofuels in the region.

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Argus Media organises Green Marine Fuels Asia Conference in Singapore

Independent global energy and commodity market intelligence provider Argus Media is organising the Argus Green Marine Fuels Asia Conference on 18 to 19 February in Singapore.

The event will be held at the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, 6 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore 039594.

With Argus’ expertise in the biofuels, methanol, ammonia, hydrogen and LNG sectors – the conference will bring together key players from across these value chains to meet with port authorities, shipowners, charterers, technology, finance, regulators, storage and terminals.

Over 40 experts and key industry stakeholders will be offering diverse insights into the competitive and progressively complex global marine fuels market in this key region.

Key speakers for the event include Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive (Industry & Transformation), Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA); Torben Nørgaard, Chief Technology Officer - Energy & Fuels, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center; Jerid Soo, Assistant General Manager (Global Sustainability and ESG), Pacific International Lines; Kazuki Yamaguchi, General Manager and Head, Maritime Energy Solution, Energy Transformation Business Group, Sumitomo Corporation; and Mahua Chakravarty, Editor, Marine Fuels (Asia), Argus.

The conference’s agenda will include as Argus’ global analysis on alternative bunker fuels, LNG benefits in the net zero pathway, global clean fuel policy, incentives and regulation, perspectives by shipowners and charterers on new fuels investments and the growing demand of biofuels in the region.

The event will offer plenty of opportunities for networking including extended coffee and lunch breaks, networking drinks reception and using the networking platform and app to schedule meetings with attendees in advance.

Note: More information on the Argus Green Marine Fuels Asia Conference can be found here including an early bird rate if registrations are completed by 10 January. 

 

Photo credit: Argus Media
Published: 3 December, 2024

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Alternative Fuels

DNV: Alternative-fuelled newbuilding orders slow down in November

Although results show a slowdown of new orders for alternative-fuelled vessels in November, this follows the strongest month ever in October and the overall trend remains strong, says Jason Stefanatos.

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DNV: Alternative-fuelled newbuilding orders slow down in November

Latest figures from classification society DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform saw that a total of 27 new orders for alternative fuelled vessels were placed in November 2024.

LNG continues to be the main driver, accounting for 23 vessels, with most of these (15) coming from the container segment. A strong month also for the car carrier segment, with six new LNG-fuelled vessels added to the orderbook.

Four new orders for ammonia-fuelled vessels were also registered.

DNV: Alternative-fuelled newbuilding orders slow down in November

DNV: Alternative-fuelled newbuilding orders slow down in November

DNV: Alternative-fuelled newbuilding orders slow down in November

Although this was a slightly slower month for new orders for alternative-fuelled vessels, it follows a record-breaking month in October, and a strong surge in activity since the summer months. 

Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonization Director at DNV Maritime, said: “Although these results show a slowdown of new orders for alternative-fuelled vessels in November, this follows the strongest month ever in October, and the overall trend remains strong.

“LNG remains the headline story with exceptional activity since the summer months. This is clearly being driven by the container segment, where the vast majority of new orders in 2024 have been for alternative-fuelled vessels.”

Related: DNV: October marks strongest month ever for alternative-fuelled newbuild orders

 

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 3 December, 2024

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