Rhenus Group on Tuesday (21 January) said its first of three barges with hydrogen and battery-electric propulsion received the Platinum Label for environmentally friendly shipping and was also awarded the Innovation Award for Inland Navigation by the Allianz ESA 2024 in September for sustainable concepts. 

After a successful testing phase, it has been confirmed that the ship meets all construction and safety requirements and is therefore ready to start regular operations on European waterways.

The Mannheim I+II, the Rhenus Group's first inland vessel with hydrogen and battery-electric propulsion, is the first push barge combination in the world to receive the exclusive platinum label. 

This award has so far only been given to 19 European inland waterway vessels and underlines the outstanding innovative strength and commitment of the Rhenus Group to a sustainable future in shipping. In addition, the ship has been awarded the Green Award in the Gold category – proof of compliance with the highest environmental standards.

In September 2024, the Rhenus Group and its subsidiaries Rhenus PartnerShip and Contargo received an award for sustainable concepts in shipbuilding and trimodal transport. This award recognises the technology and the contribution to more environmentally friendly shipping in inland transport.

The Mannheim I+II has successfully passed the road test after undergoing extensive trials. For example, zigzag and crash-stop maneuvers were carried out to ensure the vessel's stability and safety. At the same time, several push barges were towed to determine the maximum tonnage of the push barge combination that the vessel is allowed to transport.

The test phase was carried out in close collaboration with the expert from Lloyd's Register, Office Rotterdam, to also meet the requirements for the approval of dangerous goods for container transport. The ship has now received a provisional certificate of registry and has started its first voyage with several containers towards the end of 2024.

Photo credit: Rhenus SE & Co.
Published: 22 January, 2025

Trafigura, a market leader in the global commodities industry, in collaboration with CF Industries, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, today announced the completion of the first co-loaded ammonia and propane shipment operation of its kind.

This shipment follows Trafigura’s first ship-to-ship transfer of ammonia in July 2024 for CF Industries, ‘demonstrating the safe and efficient transfer of the feasibility of ammonia bunkering in the future’ as demand grows for the hydrogen-based low carbon fuels that will enable the shipping industry to decarbonise. 

In early January, the Green Power Medium Gas Carrier (MGC) completed a single voyage from the US to Europe loaded with ammonia from CF Industries and with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or propane) in separate tanks.

The co-loaded vessel project was intended in part as a demonstration of capabilities needed for the efficient and economic transport of low-carbon ammonia to supply ports that may not require a full vessel of ammonia. 

The ability to co-load low-carbon ammonia with LPG is one pathway to supporting the scale up in availability of low emission fuels. Low-carbon ammonia continues to be a leading alternative fuel candidate for applications such as coal co-firing as well as supporting the marine shipping industry transition from heavy fuel oil to alternatives with a lower-carbon intensity.

“We transport LPG and ammonia from the US to Europe on similar ships on a regular basis,” said Patricio Norris, Global Head of Ammonia and LPG for Trafigura. 

“We can improve the economics for our customers and reduce emissions with fewer voyages by safely co-loading Ammonia and LPG in the same vessel.”

“We appreciate the partnership we have with Trafigura as we take steps together to help prepare for demand growth of low-carbon ammonia and the expected transition of the marine shipping industry to low-carbon ammonia as a fuel,” said Bert Frost, Executive Vice President, Sales, Market Development and Supply Chain, CF Industries. 

“Ammonia is safely transported around the world by vessels daily, and this voyage reinforces the flexibility we have to serve emerging low-carbon ammonia demand as we innovate shipping methods with industry-leaders such as Trafigura.”

Ammonia was loaded onto the Green Power from CF Industries’ Donaldsonville, Louisiana, manufacturing complex and LPG was loaded into separate tanks of the vessel in Corpus Christi, Texas. Following a review of applicable regulations, permission from the US Coast Guard, a detailed risk assessment and planning with the ports, shipowner and operator Purus and STS company International Fender Providers (IFP), the loadings proceeded

Strict segregation requirements ensured that any crossover of liquid, condensate or vapour was prevented. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the LPG was discharged via a ship-to-ship (STS) operation in the Mediterranean for use in domestic heating and the ammonia was discharged at Tees Port for CF Fertilisers UK.

CF Industries is currently progressing a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project at its Donaldsonville facility that will enable it to produce substantial volumes of low-carbon ammonia. The CCS project is expected to start-up in 2025.

Photo credit: Trafigura
Published: 17 January, 2025

Singapore’s annual vessel arrival tonnage, total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag, container throughput, total bunker sales, and sales of alternative bunker fuels, reached new highs in 2024, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore on Wednesday (15 January).

These were among some of the announcements by Mr Murali Pillai, Minister of State for Law and Transport, at the annual Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) New Year Conversations event. Mr Murali said that despite strained global supply chains, Maritime Singapore has maintained strong growth momentum in 2024 and looks forward to continued steady growth in 2025.

Total bunker sales registered a new high of 54.92 million metric tonnes (mt), marking a 6.0% year-on-year increase from 51.82 million mt recorded in 2023. 

The increased uptake was partly due to the extended Asia-Europe shipping routes via the Cape of Good Hope given the disruptions in the Red Sea. 

Singapore made steady progress as the world’s largest bunkering port, supplying over a sixth of the total fuel used by global shipping.

Sales of alternative bunker fuels exceeded one million tonnes for the first time to reach 1.34 million tonnes in 2024, a year-on-year doubling. Specifically, the sale of biofuel blends grew from 0.52 million tonnes in 2023 to 0.88 million tonnes. 

Biofuel blends of up to B50 are available commercially with trials of up to B100 on-going. LNG increased from 0.11 million tonnes in 2023 to 0.46 million tonnes.

An Expression of Interest was launched in December 2024 to explore scalable solutions for sea-based LNG reloading to complement the existing onshore LNG bunkering storage and jetty capacities and support the supply of e-/bio methane as marine fuel in Singapore. Methanol was available on a commercial scale and registered 1,626 mt, while 9.74 mt of ammonia was bunkered for the first time globally in trials in Singapore.

As part of the pro-enterprise rules review exercise led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong to help lower business costs, MPA will reduce the verification frequency of mass flow meters from twice to once a year, starting 1 April 2025. This aligns with the updated

SS648:2024 standards and is expected to save the industry approximately SGD 300,000 a year. Risk-based audits will continue as the industry undertakes the transition.

As a leading International Maritime Centre, Singapore is home to close to 200 international shipping groups. In addition, more than 30 maritime companies spanning shipping, legal, insurance, shipbroking, and marine tech sectors, have established or expanded their operations in Singapore during the year. Notably, classification society RINA announced the set-up of its Open Innovation Hub in Singapore. 

Total business spending by key maritime companies overseen by MPA increased to SGD 5.2 billion in 2024, up from SGD 4.8 billion the previous year.

Electronic Bunker Delivery Notes

From 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers will need to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery (e-BDN) notes by default. A standard for digital bunkering supply chain documentation (SS709:2024) was also published in November 2024. 

Singapore is the first port to implement digital bunkering at scale for bunkering operations following approval by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to use eBDN at the 80th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee in 2023.

New Fuels 

To support the operationalisation of ammonia bunkering, EnterpriseSG and MPA will develop the Singapore standards for ammonia bunkering by 2025. 

The lead developer for a low- or zero-carbon ammonia power generation and bunkering solution on Jurong Island under the Request for Proposal  launched by MPA and the Energy Market Authority of Singapore is expected to be announced in 2025.

MPA is also currently developing the Technical Reference for methanol bunkering, which will cover safety procedures, crew competencies, custody transfer requirements, and the framework to govern the use of the MFM and digital documentation records for methanol bunkering. This Technical Reference is expected to be released in 2025.

MPA, together with Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Standards Council, industry stakeholders, and academia, has developed a Technical Reference (TR) for electric harbour craft (e-HC) charging and battery swap systems to support the development of the e-HC charging infrastructure and ecosystem in the Port of Singapore. Details of the TR will be announced in the coming months.

Related: Singapore achieves milestone with record year for bunker sales in 2023

Photo credit: Murali Pillai Facebook page
Published: 16 January, 2024