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SIBCON 2022: Stakeholders discuss the future of Singapore’s bunkering landscape at session finale

MPA, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services, and BP share their thoughts with Singapore Shipping Association in the final session of SIBCON 2022.

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Several stakeholders in Singapore’s bunkering industry provided insights on Singapore’s marine fuels landscape in the near future during a deep dive finale session at the 22nd edition of Singapore International Bunkering Conference, also known as SIBCON 2022, on Thursday (6 October).

Caroline Yang, Chief Executive of Hong Lam Marine and President of Singapore Shipping Association, who was moderating the session What’s Next in Singapore’s Marine Fuels Landscape, asked panellists their prediction on the main fuel types that will fuel ships and the types of carbon abatement measures they will see in 2030.

She also asked the panel about their thoughts if Singapore will remain the top bunkering port in a multi-fuel environment, what they foresee would be the expected fuel mix of 2030, expected investments that Singapore needs to have to maintain its top position, uptake rate of biofuel at the republic, and more.

Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

Dr. Sanjay Kuttan, Chief Technology Officer, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, who was one of the panellists, said there would be no major shifts in the fuel mix in 2030 if Singapore continues to remain as one of the largest transhipment ports in the world and the current rate of alternative fuels production remains unchanged.

“What you will begin to see is the emergence of LNG as a maritime fuel because there are 700 new LNG ships on order today. But that's still a drop in the ocean of the 80,000 vessels that are on water,” he said.

“We will also the increased use of drop-in biofuels, specifically Gen 2 and possibly even Gen 3 biofuels will emerge by 2030. Even though you will see more biofuels entering the market, VLSFO still will be the dominant base fuel in 2030.”

He shared with the audience the Neste refinery in Singapore produces a significant amount of hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), a good biofuel that can be mixed with marine gas oil (MGO), which presents an unique opportunity for Singapore to supply a 2nd generation biofuel at scale.

“Singapore could establish vertical algae farms for the production of 3rd Generation biofuels. So, I think if we push our imagination harder and if we want to become a biofuel hub for the shipping industry, we have the elements to actually realise that but only if it becomes a part of our national strategy.”

Dr Kuttan also pointed out that carbon abatement measures like ship board carbon capture systems can be powerful tools – but only if the industry is able to introduce a responsible solution to dispose the captured CO2 effectively.

“Ultimately, no matter how much CO2 you capture, you need to fix it and not release it into the air, so there's still a few more building blocks to be established,” he notes.

“But I think we need to recognise that we need to use every solution in our “bag-of-tricks” to try and “bend-the-curve” as soon as possible because the technology is available, however, we must ensure that the overall lifecycle analysis of any solution needs to have a positive impact on Mother Nature.”

BP

Anthony Tolani, General Manager - Australia and New Zealand, Trading and Shipping - bp Marine, agreed with Dr Kuttan's sentiments on biofuels and added stakeholders are enthusiastic in joining in decarbonisation efforts – though not necessarily led by regulations at this point of time.

“What we've seen is a voluntary adoption of biofuel, particularly where there are no incentives available and I think that will continue to build,” he said.

He added regulators can also play a role as there are still some restrictions at the moment constraining the “free adoption of biofuels”.

“So what we're seeing is an industry pushing for regulations to keep pace. Starting January 2030, we may see the emergence of methanol; however, predominantly it will be a larger uptake of biofuels, and LNG as well as VLSFO,” he said.

He also said it would be possible for biofuel bunker sales in Singapore to reach five million tonnes before 2030.

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

Capt. Daknash Ganasen, Senior Director of Operations & Marine Services, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, echoed other panellists of SIBCON 2022 in suggesting there will be no clear winner at the moment in the anticipated fuel mix in the near term,  but there are  opportunities for every type of alternative bunker fuel.Capt Daknash said that shipping companies   could also be looking into new renewable technology on board ships such as wind energy and solar energy to supplement or complement emission reduction in tandem.

He also gave his take if Singapore will remain the top bunkering port in a multi-fuel environment when it comes to marine fuel volume.

“We do, of course, definitely aspire to be the top bunkering port in the world as we move into a transition from fossil fuel to the next alternative fuel and renewable energy,” he said.

He noted MPA has partnered with various initiatives including being a member of the Castor Initiative and SABRE consortium, in itself is a testament that we aspire to be amongst the top bunkering ports in the world moving ahead as well,” he said

Capt Daknash also shared other initiative such as  co-founding the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation to look into the various aspects of the challenges that the industry face moving towards  2030 and 2050, and  initiatives with like-minded ports under the Future Fuel Port Network, which was formed with the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan where parties collaborate, share information, and work on best practices together.

Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services

Choong Sheen Mao, Director, Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services (Equatorial), said there needs to be more strategic collaboration, not just within Singapore but also internationally.

“Equatorial sees Singapore as still being the leading bunkering hub in the world, especially with the focus on a multi-fuel future. Furthermore, the republic is not just a hub for bunkering, but a hub for many other aspects, such as financing, trading and digitalisation,” stated Mr Choong.

“The future is going to be much more complicated, requiring the Port to tackle difficult issues such as operational safety during ammonia bunkering.

“Nonetheless, good foundations have already been built over the years; for example the mandatory use of mass flow metering system paves the way to accurately measure the quantity of bunkers delivered, which may allow other things, such as accurate tracking of potential carbon emissions from the delivered products.

“Singapore has a strong and diverse ecosystem for us to adapt, collaborate and deal with future challenges. There has never been a more exciting time for the bunkering industry.”

He emphasised the company’s commitment to biofuels, adding: “Equatorial has already obtained our ISCC certification. There will be a gradual scaling up process in the adoption of alternate fuels, especially due to high prices.”

“Biofuel, because it is a drop-in fuel, it will be much more straightforward. Regulations will nonetheless have to kick in to incentivise shipowners to use such fuels. Short to medium term subsidies will help with the uptake of biofuel but, at the end of the day, the economics of consuming biofuel have to be sustainable in the long run.”

Mr Choong, meanwhile, noted decarbonisation developments within the shipping industry taking a rapid pace.

“Even within the past 18 months, the vocabulary of discussing about decarbonisation has matured rapidly. It is now quite established that the world will adopt the well-to-wake method in assessing carbon emissions. The industry has become much more refined and accurate in our references,” he explained.

“Before we discussed about the potential of ammonia [as an alternate marine fuel]. Now we speak about consuming green or blue ammonia. The transition to alternate fuels will be very interesting.

“How do we ensure that the price of transitional fuel or green fuel is competitive with conventional fuel? Could one solution be carbon taxes with a floating price mechanism against conventional fuels, with the involvement of price publishing agencies? This may assist us in the transition.

“Nevertheless, going green is going to be a very expensive exercise. Therefore, we need to be very selective in making sure we take the right steps. We cannot afford to take too many wrong steps. It will be too costly, especially to a single organisation.”

Manifold Times is an official media partner of SIBCON 2022; a series of articles related to the event written by the Singapore bunkering publication are as follows:

RelatedSingapore: MPA develops framework to support biofuel bunker fuel deliveries
RelatedSIBCON 2022: SGTraDex enters MOU with six bunkering sector tech providers
RelatedSIBCON 2022: S&P Global Market Intelligence and Bunkerchain in MoU
RelatedSIBCON 2022: Singapore sets out to drive transformation in bunkering
Related: SIBCON 2022: Development of ISO 8217:2024 in progress; but ‘ineffective’ without industry adoption, foresees VPS
RelatedSIBCON 2022 Interview: ExxonMobil to invest more than USD $15bn on GHG reduction initiatives by 2027
RelatedSIBCON 2022 Interview: Eaglestar discusses challenges and possible solutions in embracing ammonia as a bunker fuel
RelatedSIBCON 2022 Interview: Digitalisation in bunkering ops, can lower costs and enable decarbonisation, says StormGeo
RelatedSIBCON 2022 Interview: Co-Convenors offer insights into Singapore’s upcoming Digital Bunker Document Standard
RelatedSIBCON 2022 Interview: MFMs relevant for custody transfer of future liquid-based marine fuels, confirms Endress+Hauser
RelatedSIBCON 2022 Interview: Clyde & Co discusses handling of bunker fuel quality disputes, alt fuels contracts
RelatedSIBCON 2022 Interview: Singapore Bunkering TC Chairman shares republic’s direction on future marine fuel

 

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 14 October, 2022

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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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RESIZED IBIA logo

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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