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SIBCON 2022: Singapore sets out to drive transformation in bunkering

New initiatives on biofuel as marine fuel, digital bunkering and fuel quality assurance announced at the 22nd edition from 4 to 7 October 2022.

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SMS Chee Hong Tat speaking at SIBCON 2022 1

The Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) returns for its 22nd edition from 4 to 7 October 2022, as the world's largest forum for the marine fuel industry. Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the biennial event gathers prominent industry players and thought leaders across the global bunkering community to discuss pertinent issues such as trade and supply chain developments, the evolving marine fuel industry, digitalisation for bunkering, and the push for decarbonisation. Themed ‘Driving the Transformation of Marine Fuels’, SIBCON 2022 welcomes 1,800 attendees from over 45 countries.

Speaking at the opening address, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat, shared that the Port of Singapore remained the top bunkering port in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that looking ahead, the global environment has become more uncertain and Maritime Singapore needs to continue transforming to remain relevant as a global hub port and international maritime centre. Mr Chee outlined three key areas - taking steps to kick start our decarbonisation journey, enhancing services through digitalisation, and providing quality assurance - to guide Singapore’s efforts to tackle the near-term challenges for the bunkering sector.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Mr Baey Yam Keng, officiated the SIBCON exhibition with industry partners and toured the exhibits. This year, some 30 exhibitors comprising bunker suppliers, bunker traders, oil majors, engine manufacturers, and software companies participated in the exhibition.

Taking Steps to Kick-start Decarbonisation for the Maritime Sector

The National Climate Change Secretariat is leading public consultation for the potential raising of our level of ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The push for the full electrification of local harbour craft and the use of biofuels will contribute to this national effort. At the port-to-port level, MPA is working with like-minded ports such as the Port of Rotterdam to establish green and digital corridors and develop a global network.

Singapore continues to make progress on the bunkering of biofuel. Approximately 70,000 tonnes of biofuel have been supplied in Singapore to ocean-going vessels across more than 40 biofuel bunkering operations. Currently, there is no international quality standard for biofuel as a marine fuel. As part of efforts to support the multi-fuel transition towards decarbonisation, MPA together with the industry, academia, and relevant government organisations under the national standardisation programme overseen by Enterprise Singapore, have developed a provisional national quality standard for marine biofuel to support the development of biofuel bunkering. MPA has also developed a framework setting out conditions under which licensed bunker suppliers may supply biofuel within the Port of Singapore to support trials conducted by vessels. Please refer to MPA Port Marine Circular No. 21 of 2022 in the Annex for details of the standard and requirements.

On quantity assurance, MPA is working with the Technical Committee for Bunkering, to study the impact of biofuel on the metrological accuracy of Mass Flow Meters and is working with stakeholders to amend the SS 648: 2019 Code of Practice for Bunker Mass Flow Metering to include biofuels within its scope.

MPA is also actively looking into the reduction of energy demand which can be pursued regardless of the choice of new marine fuels. This will help shipping companies reduce costs and lower carbon emissions. On alternative fuels, LNG is a transition fuel and Singapore is ready to supply LNG bunker, with a total of 24 ship-to-ship transfer operations in 2021. Singapore’s second LNG bunker vessel, Brassavola, was christened this week as well.

As part of a multi-fuel future, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen derived from renewables and its carriers as well as biofuels could play significant roles in the decarbonisation of global shipping. MPA will continue to collaborate with public and private sector partners to accelerate the trials and adoption of these new fuels to support our domestic and international sustainability goals.

Strengthening fuel quality assurance

MPA announced in May 2022 that it will co-chair an Industry Expert Group (IEG) with the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) to strengthen quality assurance of bunkers supplied in Singapore and establish a list of chemicals to be tested and their corresponding concentration limits. The IEG includes relevant professional bodies, including the Chemical Metrology Division from Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority, International Council on Combustion Engines, and International Bunker Industry Association. The IEG is expected to provide their recommendations by Q1 2023. MPA, SSA and the IEG will also share information with the International Maritime Organization and International Organization for Standardization as appropriate.

Accelerating digitalisation of bunkering supply chain

Along with the opening conference at SIBCON 2022, Mr Chee also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Singapore Trade Data Exchange Services (SGTraDex) and key industry solution providers. The MoU seeks to promote the integration of the SGTraDex with solution providers to enable efficient data flows and systems interoperability across the bunker supply chain.

SGTraDex MOU Signing Ceremony 1

Another industry agreement that was signed in conjunction with SIBCON 2022 includes the MoU between S&P Global Market Intelligence and Bunkerchain on Marine Vessel Pass, an Identity as a Service (IDaaS) that enables ship owners to create digital identities for ships. This could potentially enable vessels to replace wet ink ship stamps and physical signatures.

Joint Oil Spill Exercise to test operational readiness to oil spills at sea

MPA is leading a multi-agency Joint Oil Spill Exercise (JOSE) 2022 on 7 October to test and demonstrate Singapore’s operational readiness to respond to a simulated oil spill incident resulting from a “collision” between a tanker and a bulk carrier near the Raffles Reserved Anchorage. More than 100 personnel from the MPA, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Singapore Police Force (SPF), together with Shell Companies in Singapore and Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) will be participating in the exercise. JOSE 2022 will showcase MPA’s newest patrol craft, MPA Guardian, as the On-Scene Commander platform to direct and coordinate the Whole-of-Government (WoG) responses, as well as to deploy its oil dispersant spray system and oil spill containment booms to control the oil spillage.

During the exercise, apart from showcasing firefighting capabilities at sea, the SCDF will also be involved in the rescue and evacuation operations, including a height rescue scenario where injured crew will be rescued from the upper-deck of a vessel using a lowering system and transferred to SCDF marine vessels for evacuation. SPF’s Police Coast Guard will provide a security cordon of the incident site. This will prevent unauthorised entry by other vessels, facilitate clean-up works, as well as ensure the safety of vessels in the vicinity.

In addition to the deployment of oil spill containment booms and skimmers around the bunker tanker, OSRL will dispatch a Hercules-C130 aircraft to perform a low level and wide-area dispersal of “oil dispersant” over the anchorage to contain the spread of the spillage.

JOSE 2022 is expected to host over 80 delegates from SIBCON 2022.

SPS Baey Yam Keng officiating the launch of SIBCON 2022 Exhibition 1

 

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 5 October, 2022

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Methanol

Kambara Kisen orders methanol dual-fuel bulker from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding

Firm ordered a 65,700-dwt methanol dual-fuel dry bulk carrier with Tsuneishi Shipbuilding; MOL signed a basic agreement on time charter for the newbuilding that is slated to be delivered in 2027.

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Kambara Kisen orders methanol dual-fuel bulker from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding

Japanese shipowner Kambara Kisen has ordered a 65,700-dwt methanol dual-fuel dry bulk carrier newbuilding from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd, according to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) on Wednesday (20 September).

MOL said it signed a basic agreement on time charter for the newbuilding that is slated to be delivered in 2027. 

The vessel will be designed to use e-methanol produced primarily by synthesising recovered CO2 and hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources, and bio-methanol derived from biogas. 

The vessel's design maximises cargo space while ensuring sufficient methanol tank capacity set to allow the required navigational distance assuming various routes, at the same time maximising cargo space. 

MOL added the vessel is expected to serve mainly in the transport of biomass fuels from the east coast of North America to Europe and the U.K. and within the Pacific region, as well as grain from the east coast of South America and the U.S. Gulf Coast to Europe and the Far East.

Details on the time-charter contract:

Shipowner: Kambara Kisen wholly owned subsidiary
Charterer: MOL Drybulk Ltd.
Charter period 2027: -

Details on the newbuilding methanol dual fuel bulk carrier:

LOA: About 200 m
Breadth: About 32.25 m
Draft: About 13.80 m
Deadweight: About 65,700 MT
Hold capacity: About 81,500m3
Shipyard: Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Photo credit: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Published: 22 September, 2023

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Methanol

Argus Media: Alternatives may drive methanol market growth

Driven by low-carbon policies and regulations, the transportation sector — especially the marine fuels industry — could be a source of heightened demand, according to Argus.

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RESIZED Argus media

The growth of sustainable alternatives to traditional methanol production sources likely will shape the market over the next several years, industry leaders said this week at the Argus Methanol Forum.

20 September 

Driven by low-carbon policies and regulations, the transportation sector — especially the marine fuels industry — could be a source of heightened demand.

"The aim is to be net zero by 2050 but [those solutions are] expensive today and one of the main challenges to build e-methanol or bio-methanol plants is a huge queue for these pieces of equipment that aren't available," Anita Gajadhar, executive director for Swiss-based methanol producer Proman, said.

Bio-based and e-methanol plants of commercial scale, like Proman's natural gas-fed 1.9 million metric tonne/yr M5000 plant in Trinidad and Tobago, are not ready today.

"But that's not to say 10 years from now they won't be there," Gajadhar added.

Smaller projects are popping up. Dutch fuels and gas supplier OCI Global announced plans last week to double the green methanol capacity at its Beaumont, Texas, facility to 400,000 t/yr and will add e-methanol to production for the first time. Production will use feedstocks such as renewable natural gas (RNG), green hydrogen and biogas.

The globally oversupplied methanol market will not get any major supply additions starting in 2024 until 2027. But that oversupply will not last long, Gajadhar said.

Global demand has slowed this year, driven by stagnate economic growth and higher interest rates, according to industry observers.

As much as half of methanol demand is tied to GDP growth, with total methanol demand estimates at 88.9mn t globally in 2023. This is essentially flat from 2022, but up from 88.3m t in 2021 and 87.7mn t in 2020, Dave McCaskill, vice-president of methanol and derivatives for Argus Media's consulting service, said.

Demand is not expected to rebound to 2019 levels of 89.6mn t until 2024 or 2025, he added.

The period of oversupply combined with lackluster demand places methanol in a transition period, Gajadhar said, which opens the door for sustainable feedstock alternatives to shape market growth.

Danish container shipping giant Maersk and French marine logistics company CMA-CGM announced earlier this week a partnership to drive decarbonization in shipping. The partnership seeks to develop fuel and operations standards for bunkering with alternative fuels. The companies will develop net-zero solutions, including new technology and alternative fuels.

Maersk has previously ordered dual-fuel methanol-powered vessels and CMA-CGM LNG-propelled vessels.

The demand for alternative feedstock-derived fuels is there, but the ability to scale-up such production lags. Certified lower-carbon methanol produced using carbon capture and sequestration — also known as blue methanol— can ramp up much more quickly, according to Gajadhar.

By Steven McGinn

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 22 September, 2023

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Biofuel

Royal Caribbean completes over 12 weeks of bio bunker fuel testing in Europe

Firm expanded its biofuel testing this summer in Europe to two additional ships — Royal Caribbean International’s “Symphony of the Seas” and Celebrity Cruises’ “Celebrity Apex”.

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Royal Caribbean completes over 12 weeks of bio bunker fuel testing in Europe

Royal Caribbean Group on Tuesday (19 September) said it successfully completed over 12 consecutive weeks of biofuel testing in Europe. 

Royal Caribbean International’s Symphony of the Seas became the first ship in the maritime industry to successfully test and use a biofuel blend in Barcelona to meet part of her fuel needs. 

The company confirmed onboard technical systems met operational standards, without quality or safety concerns, demonstrating the biofuel blend is a reliable “drop in” supply of lower emission energy that ships can use to set sail across Europe and beyond. 

The tests across Europe also provided valuable data to understand the availability and scalability of biofuel in the region, the firm added. 

Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group, said: “This is a pivotal moment for Royal Caribbean Group’s alternative fuel journey.”

“Following our successful trial of biofuels this summer, we are one step closer to bringing our vision for net-zero cruising to life. As we strive to protect and promote the vibrant oceans we sail, we are determined to accelerate innovation and improve how we deliver vacation experiences responsibly.”

President of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó, said: “Royal Caribbean’s success is a clear example of how commitment to innovation makes possible the development of solutions to decarbonise the maritime sector.”

“In this case, it involves the cruise sector and focuses on biofuels, an area in which the Port of Barcelona is already working to become an energy hub, producing and supplying zero carbon fuels, such as green hydrogen and ammonia, and of other almost zero-carbon alternative fuels, such as methanol, biofuels or synthetic fuels. Innovation and collaboration between ports and shipping companies is key to accelerate the decarbonisation of maritime transport.”

The company began testing biofuels last year and expanded the trail this summer in Europe to two additional ships — Royal Caribbean International’s Symphony of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Apex

The sustainable biofuel blends tested were produced by purifying renewable raw materials like waste oils and fats and combining them with fuel oil to create an alternative fuel that is cleaner and more sustainable. The biofuel blends tested are accredited by International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), a globally recognized organization that ensures sustainability of biofuels and verifies reductions of related emissions.

With Symphony of the Seas departing from the Port of Barcelona and Celebrity Apex departing from the Port of Rotterdam, both ships accomplished multiple sailings using biofuel and contributed critical data on the fuel’s capabilities. 

“These results will help accelerate Royal Caribbean Group’s plans to continue testing the use of different types of biofuels on upcoming European sailings this fall. The company is exploring strategic partnerships with suppliers and ports to ensure the availability of biofuel and infrastructures to advance the maritime energy transition,” the firm said. 

Photo credit: Royal Caribbean Group 
Published: 22 September, 2023

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