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OCI Global to deliver green methanol bunker fuel for Maersk boxship on maiden voyage

OCI is obtaining the approvals and permits required to commercially bunker methanol in several ports, including Port of Rotterdam on the ship’s voyage from South Korea this summer.

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OCI Global (OCI) on Monday (12 June) announced it is fuelling the first ever green methanol-powered container ship in a new partnership with A.P. Moller-Maersk. 

OCI will provide ISCC certified biomethanol to power the maiden voyage of Maersk's first dual-fuelled container ship.

“The journey demonstrates OCI's unique capacity to supply marine customers with end-to-end green methanol solutions in major global bunkering locations, and further supports green methanol as the leading choice today for decarbonising the marine sector, which is responsible for 3% of global GHG emissions,” OCI said in a statement. 

The vessel leaves South Korea for its maiden voyage this summer, sailing along one of the world's busiest shipping routes to Northern Europe via the Suez Canal. OCI is obtaining the approvals and permits required to commercially bunker methanol in several ports, including Port of Rotterdam on the ship's voyage, positioning OCI as the first commercial bunker operator of methanol in these regions.

This voyage is an important milestone in the expansion of OCI's renewable and low-carbon fuels business, a key pillar of OCI's sustainable growth strategy. As the maritime industry navigates increased regulation to accelerate decarbonisation, such as the FuelEU Maritime initiative, OCI anticipates incremental global demand for methanol at 4 million tons per year in the next five years, based on current orders from the marine sector.

OCI is focused on being the last mile operator of choice at strategic bunkering ports, leveraging partnerships with relevant authorities, terminal infrastructure partners, and bunker barge operators. In February, OCI announced its project with Unibarge to retrofit the first methanol powered bunker barge, to be deployed at the Port of Rotterdam.  

Through its OCI HyFuels brand, OCI is the largest green methanol producer globally. It has led the development of green methanol application in vehicle fuels, now placing up to 200,000 tons per annum equivalent and is growing its suite of low-carbon and green methanol products, including biomethanol, e-methanol, recycled carbon fuel (RCF) methanol, renewable natural gas, ethanol and bio-MTBE.

Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO at OCI Global, said: “I'm delighted that we are partnering with Maersk to power the first ever green methanol voyage with OCI HyFuels green methanol. This marks another significant milestone in our global leadership in supplying and trading renewable and low carbon fuels to decarbonise energy-intensive industries.”

“We also appreciate the collaboration and leadership of our partners at each of the ports to facilitate this journey. With the maritime industry facing increasing regulatory scrutiny, its decarbonisation is urgent, and OCI is playing a crucial role in helping the sector meet its environmental goals through our existing methanol capabilities; helping us build our position in the marine and fuels markets to capitalise on the coming ammonia fuel demand.”

Bashir Lebada, CEO of OCI Methanol/HyFuels, said: “We are excited about this new phase of our methanol business. Marine has been the main buzz around methanol for several years, so to secure the first real green sale and voyage is testament to our team's hard work and further reinforces OCI HyFuels as the only large-scale green methanol solution for road and bunker.”

“We welcome our partnership with Maersk and their leadership in decarbonising the maritime sector; their early focus on methanol and conviction to order vessels has led us to where we are today. This also highlights our distribution system and last mile capabilities where we will continue to leverage our road fuel logistics and fuel blending system, and add to our green bunker barge fleet as demand grows.”

Emma Mazhari, Head of Energy Markets at A.P. Moller – Maersk, said: “We would like to thank OCI Global for showing great leadership and for a good collaboration on fuelling the maiden voyage for our landmark vessel. We are grateful for the way OCI Global has committed to help A.P. Moller - Maersk deliver valuable services to our customers.”

“Together, as trusted partners, we are driving a much-needed transition in a heavy-pollution industry. Because of the work by companies like OCI Global, that transition can hopefully be accelerated in the years to come.”

Related: EC President to be godmother of Maersk green methanol powered vessel
Related: Maersk to hold festivities welcoming world’s first green methanol-powered boxship in September
Related: Maersk unveils design of its new methanol dual fuel container ship
Related: Maersk makes first green methanol investment of 2023 in tech start-up C1
Related: Maersk to operate world’s first methanol fuelled, carbon neutral feeder vessel by 2023

 

Photo credit: A.P. Moller – Maersk
Published: 13 June, 2023

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Biofuel

NYK conducts first Japan bio bunker fuel trial on coal carrier for domestic power utility firm

Firm said it has started a biofuel test run on Noshiro Maru, operated by Tohoku Electric Power, marking the first time in Japan that a coal carrier has been used to test biofuel for a domestic power utility firm.

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NYK conducts first Japan bio bunker fuel trial on coal carrier for domestic power utility firm

Japanese shipping firm NYK on Monday (10 February) said it has started a biofuel test run on its coal carrier Noshiro Maru, which is operated by Tohoku Electric Power on 9 February.

This is the first time in Japan that a coal carrier has been used to test biofuel for a domestic power utility company. Mitsubishi Corporation Energy in the Keihin area facilitated the supply of biofuel for the vessel.

Biofuels are made from organic resources (biomass) of biological origin, such as agricultural residues and waste cooking oil, and are considered to produce virtually zero carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions when combusted.

“Since they can be used in heavy-oil-powered ship engines, which are common on large merchant ships, biofuels are considered a key means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transition period from heavy oil to zero-emission fuels,” NYK said. 

“Using biofuel to reduce GHG emissions during sea navigation also contributes to reducing Scope 3 GHG emissions generated by transporting customers’ cargo.”

NYK added it will continue to focus on introducing biofuels and other next-generation fuels, and will contribute to reducing GHG emissions in our customers' supply chains while promoting decarbonisation in marine transport.

 

Photo credit: NYK
Published: 11 February, 2025

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Biofuel

IBIA welcomes IMO move to draft guidance change on carriage of bio bunker fuels

IBIA welcomed agreement by IMO’s Sub Committee on PPR 12 to draft Interim Guidance on the carriage of blends of biofuels and MARPOL Annex I cargoes by conventional bunker ships.

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The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) on Monday (10 February) said it submitted a document to IMO on the carriage of biofuels for supply to a ship for use as fuel oil on board that ship in November 2023.

This highlighted that as conventional bunker vessels were limited in carrying fuel oil of no more than 25% biofuel it presented a potential impediment to the global adoption of biofuels as fuel oil for ships and so to the ambition for the decarbonization of international shipping in the short term, as set out in the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy.

“IBIA therefore welcomes the agreement by IMO’s Sub Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 12) to draft Interim Guidance on the carriage of blends of biofuels and MARPOL Annex I cargoes by conventional bunker ships,” it said on its website. 

The guidance allows conventional bunker ships certified for carriage of oil fuels under MARPOL Annex I to transport blends of not more than 30% by volume of biofuel, as long as all residues or tank washings are discharged ashore, unless the oil discharge monitoring equipment (ODME) is approved for the biofuel blend(s) being shipped. 

“The Interim Guidance is expected to be approved by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) in April,” IBIA added. 

“IBIA’s membership represents stakeholders from across the global marine fuel value chain, and being able to draw on this technically strong and credible resource will, in its role of having consultative status to the IMO, mean that IBIA will continue to bring important matters to the attention of the wider IMO membership for due consideration.”

 

Photo credit: International Bunker Industry Association
Published: 11 February, 2025

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Alternative Fuels

Ammonia, methanol bunkering infrastructures among 39 projects to receive EU funding

Both projects aim to deploy a ship-to-ship bunkering system at the ports of Huelva and Algeciras respectively and include a 7500 m3 bunkering vessel each.

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Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash

Editor's Note [12 February 2025] : Article updated on CEPSA 

Two projects involving ammonia and methanol bunkering infrastructures in the ports of Huelva and Algeciras in Spain were among 39 projects to receive funding under the first cut-off deadline of 2024-2025 Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), according to the European Commission recently. 

The first ammonia bunkering infrastructure will be in Algecirasa as part of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. The project aims to deploy a ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering system in the port of Algeciras. 

It includes a 7500 m3 ammonia bunkering vessel, an on-shore ship loading system and the piping infrastructure for the transport of ammonia from the production site to the loading dock.  

Meanwhile, the first methanol bunkering infrastructure will be in Huelva, also as part of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. The project aims to deploy a ship-to-ship methanol bunkering system in the port of Algeciras. 

It includes a 7500 m3 methanol bunkering vessel, an on shore ship loading system and the piping infrastructure for the transport of methanol from the production site to the loading dock.

The coordinator for both bunkering projects is Spanish bunker fuel supplier CEPSA, which has been renamed to Moeve in October last year. 

The European Commission said the EU is allocating nearly EUR 422 million to the 39 projects that will deploy alternative fuels supply infrastructure along the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), contributing to decarbonisation. 

With this selection, the AFIF will support other projects including approximately 2,500 electric recharging points for light-duty vehicles and 2,400 for heavy-duty vehicles along the European TEN-T road network, 35 hydrogen refuelling stations for cars, trucks and buses, the electrification of ground handling services in eight airports and the greening of nine ports.

Following EU Member States’ approval of the selected projects on 4 February, the European Commission will adopt the award decision in the coming months, after which the results will become definitive. 

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has started the preparation of the grant agreements with the beneficiaries of successful projects.

Note: The full list of successful projects can be viewed here.

 

Photo credit: Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash
Published: 11 February, 2025

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