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Singapore: GCMD studies FAME biofuel degradation in bunker supply chains

Latest report by GCMD, which tracked quality of FAME and FAME blends across maritime supply chain, found that trials detected no significant degradation of FAME under commercial operations conditions.

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Singapore: GCMD studies FAME biofuel degradation in commercial and storage conditions

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) on Tuesday (18 June) announced the release of its latest report,aimed to shed light on its findings from tracking the quality of FAME and FAME blends as they make their way through the supply chains and on consumption onboard vessels.

GCMD said Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), a readily available biofuel, is gaining attention as an immediate solution to comply with EU and IMO regulations.

FAME use in major bunkering hubs Singapore and Rotterdam has risen from being negligible in 2020 to a combined 1 million metric tonnes (mt) of FAME blends in 2023.

“Unlike conventional marine fuels, FAME-based biofuels can be unstable since its natural oils and fats can slowly oxidise when exposed to atmospheric oxygen,” it said. 

When oxidation happens, FAME can degrade to produce by-products, like peroxides, alcohols, and sludge, all of which can impact engine life and performance. Degradation can also be further accelerated by exposure to water, impurities, contaminants, light, and heat.

The report, titled Tracking the propensity of biofuels degradation across the maritime supply chain, sheds light on a crucial question: Does FAME degrade significantly under actual commercial and storage conditions in the marine supply chains, hindering its potential as a widespread decarbonisation solution?  

Key insights and takeaways

 Encouragingly, GCMD said end-to-end supply chain trials detected no significant degradation of FAME under commercial operations conditions.

“These findings offer strong support for FAME use in the marine fuels supply chain,” it said. 

The report elaborates how the team traced the properties of FAME and FAME blends, and tracked the parameters of FAME quality, namely acid value, viscosity, FAME content, energy content and microbial contamination, of samples at different points along the supply chain to come to this conclusion.

What the report covers

  • Understanding the propensity of degradation of FAME
  • Tracing FAME quality in GCMD’s end-to-end supply chains
  • Understanding the current ISO specifications for FAME quality requirements
  • Contextualising GCMD’s findings per ISO specifications

The report is co-authored by Dr. Prapisala Thepsithar, Director of Projects, and Dr. Sanjay Kuttan, Chief Strategy Officer, at GCMD. 

It has also been reviewed by industry leaders: Dr. Malcolm Cooper, CEO of VPS, Captain Rahul Choudhuri, President, Strategic Partnerships, VPS and Ms. Monique Vermeire, Fuels Technologist at Chevron.

In a social media post, Capt. Rahul Choudhuri, President Strategic Partnerships, said: “VPS is very proud to have supported the Global Centre of Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) in this vitally important work of understanding the nature of Biofuels Degradation.”

VPS said the biofuels study showed levels of fuel degradation in a real-world environment. Whereas the trials indicated no degradation of the Biofuels over the nominated transportation section & supply to the vessel

Note: The report titled ‘Tracking the propensity of biofuels degradation across the maritime supply chain’ can be found here

 

Photo credit: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
Published: 19 June 2024

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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

ENGINE on Fuel Switch Snapshot: Liquid fuel prices drop

VLSFO availability improves in Singapore; B100 cheaper than HSFO with EU regulations; LNG becomes costliest fuel option in Rotterdam.

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ENGINE on Fuel Switch Snapshot: Liquid fuel prices drop

Once a week, bunker intelligence platform ENGINE will publish a snapshot of alternative and conventional bunker fuel prices in the world’s two biggest bunkering hubs. The following is the latest snapshot:

  • VLSFO availability improves in Singapore
  • B100 cheaper than HSFO with EU regs
  • LNG becomes costliest fuel option in Rotterdam

B100 (100% biofuel) is now $32/mt cheaper than HSFO in Rotterdam when factoring in EU ETS compliance costs and FuelEU pooling benefits for voyages between two EU ports.

EU regulations make liquid biomethane (LBM) $121/mt cheaper in Rotterdam than HSFO, but only if used in a diesel slow-speed (SS) marine engine with the lowest methane slip of 0.2%.

If the fuel is used in an Otto medium-speed engine with a 3.1% methane slip, LBM is actually $14/mt more expensive than HSFO, even with regulatory benefits.

ENGINE on Fuel Switch Snapshot: Liquid fuel prices drop

Regardless of the engine type, Rotterdam's VLSFO-equivalent liquefied natural gas (LNG) benchmark is now more expensive than all conventional fuels.

Even when accounting for the EU ETS and FuelEU penalties and considering that the fuel is used in a diesel SS engine, the theoretical price of LNG remains $66/mt higher than VLSFO and only $1/mt cheaper than LSMGO.

Liquid fuels

Rotterdam's VLSFO-equivalent B100 price has declined by $66/mt, while Singapore’s price has dropped by $10/mt over the past week.

PRIMA Markets assessed the Dutch HBE rebate for B100 in Rotterdam at $369/mt on Friday, marking a $12/mt increase from the previous week.

Rotterdam’s VLSFO price has remained relatively stable, with only a modest $4/mt decline—smaller than the $7/mt drop seen in the front-month ICE Brent futures contract.

Singapore has seen a larger $16/mt drop, partly due to improved VLSFO availability. Recommended lead times for the grade have shortened from 7–11 days last week, to 4–8 days now.

Liquid gases

Rotterdam’s LNG price has climbed for a third week in a row, this time by $26/mt over the past week. This increase is linked to a 3% rise in the front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas contract, a key European gas benchmark.

The Dutch TTF benchmark has risen due to increased demand due to colder weather and increased draws from underground gas reserves in Europe.

Singapore’s VLSFO-equivalent LNG price has also climbed by $12/mt in the past week. “The rise can be attributed to updated forecasts of colder weather in Japan and higher gas prices in Europe,” Rystad Energy said.

By Konica Bhatt

 

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 11 February, 2025

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