Alternative Fuels

SMW 2023: Methanol-based spill scenario organised for ICOPCE table-top exercise

Exercise scenario involved, for the first time, methanol spill at sea to prepare for methanol bunkering in Port of Singapore later this year; modelling study of plume clouds from released methanol was shown.

Published

1 year ago

April 27, 2023

Admin

The 13th biennial International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference and Exhibition (ICOPCE) was held on Wednesday (26 April) at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in conjunction with the Singapore Maritime Week.

Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the event was opened by Capt M. Segar, Assistant Chief Executive (Operations), MPA.

Themed ‘Spill Strategies in a Decarbonisation Era’, the conference provided a platform for industry professionals to discuss spill strategies for alternative marine fuels, including best practices, safety challenges and crisis management. ICOPCE brought together more than 150 professionals from various government agencies, port operators, as well as industry players from the bunkering, petrochemicals, shipping, protection and indemnity, and emergency response sectors.

Key speakers include Mr Christophe Logette, Director, Cedre, Mr Rob Boudestijn, Managing Director, Vopak Terminals Singapore, and Capt Clint Bout, General Manager and Head of Marine, Hafnia.

Methanol-based Spill Scenario for the ICOPCE Table-Top Exercise

A table-top exercise (TTX) was organised as part of the ICOPCE programme to provide an opportunity for participants to review existing safety measures and standards, identify potential gaps and new safeguards, clarify roles and responsibilities, and strengthen cross-agency coordination for an effective response to a chemical spill incident. This year’s TTX scenario involved, for the first time, methanol spill at sea to prepare for methanol bunkering in the Port of Singapore later this year. A modelling study of plume clouds that could form when methanol is suddenly released into the atmosphere during an incident or emergency was presented by MPA’s Port Chemist for participants’ awareness.

Participants also learnt about the specific hazards of methanol where a methanol flame is difficult to detect by sight, possible safety measures that could be adopted when handling the fuel, effective measures to detect and put out a methanol fire onboard a vessel, and the training of seafarers, operators, and engineers to reduce the risks of methanol handling.

Panos Koutsourakis, Vice President, Global Sustainability from ABS, said, “ABS is committed to supporting the safe adoption of methanol by the industry and today’s event is an important aspect of that. This year’s ICOPCE TTX provided participants with insights into the behaviour of methanol in a maritime operating environment and helped build confidence of how the maritime industry can safely manage its risks and hazards while achieving net-zero emissions. By working together to examine challenges and explore solutions, we can keep our industry in the forefront of the energy transition.

Development of Safety Standards for New Fuels

A key pillar of Singapore’s multi-fuel future development is the safe handling of alternative new marine fuels. MPA, together with various research agencies and the industry, are developing the necessary safety standards and procedures to ensure safe and efficient bunkering operations of new fuels, including methanol and ammonia.

The ongoing key safety studies and plans related to Methanol include:

Working Group on standard development for Methanol Bunkering – Appointed by Enterprise Singapore as the Standards Development Organisation, the Singapore Chemical Industry Council has formed a Working Group, in consultation with MPA, to develop a Technical Reference (TR) for methanol bunkering for Singapore. The TR will cover custody transfer requirements for delivery of methanol from the bunker tanker to receiving vessels, operational and safety requirements for methanol bunkering as well as crew training and competency. Discussions on the TR has commenced within the Working Group in April 2023 and it is expected to be ready in 2024.
Hazard Identification (HAZID) and Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) workshop – MPA will organise a HAZID and HAZOP workshop in May 2023 with methanol bunkering trial partners, working group members and relevant government agencies to develop prevention, control and mitigation methods, as well as safety and operational readiness standards required during the bunkering operation.
Full Deployment Exercise (FDX) – MPA will hold a FDX involving government agencies and the stakeholders in Q3 2023 to validate the effectiveness of the emergency preparedness, procedures, and responses for methanol bunkering.

Infrastructure for Methanol Bunkering

Since 2022, Singapore has completed more than 70 methanol loading and discharging operations for industrial use, measuring a total of more than 400,000 tonnes. These operations were conducted across 10 storage tanks at Jurong Island of varying capacities at Vopak Terminals, Stolthaven Terminal, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS) Terminal, and Chevron Oronite Terminal. These tanks can also be used to store methanol for bunkering requirements.

Maersk Methanol Bunkering Operation Pilot in Port of Singapore

First announced during the Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) in 2022, Singapore’s first methanol bunkering pilot will be conducted with Maersk Oil Trading, Mitsui & Co. Ltd., Mitsui & Co. Energy Trading Singapore Pte. Ltd, and American Bureau of Shipping in Q3 2023. The pilot will be coordinated by MPA, who will work closely with the stakeholders, research community and national entities to ensure that the bunkering operation is carried out safely and securely.

The lessons gleaned from this bunkering operation will inform the development of processes and procedures for other maritime fuels under consideration such as ammonia and hydrogen.

As the port authority, MPA said it will continue to work closely with the industry and the research community to facilitate all trials and pilots of new marine fuels in the Port of Singapore and in conjunction with MPA’s green and digital shipping corridor partners.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 27 April, 2023

Bunker Fuel

SIBCON 2024: EnterpriseSG to launch new Singapore standard for e-BDN

EnterpriseSG, through the Singapore Standards Council, will launch a new Singapore Standard 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation.

Published

16 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: New Singapore standard on digital bunkering to be launched

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), will launch a new Singapore Standard (SS) 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation, according to Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Wednesday (9 October).

MPA said the new standard will ensure data consistency and interoperability between digital systems and facilitate smoother transactions through trusted and verifiable digital bunkering documents.

This comes following Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Ministry of Transport, announcing that from 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers will be required to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs) as a default.

The move was decided following successful pilots conducted since 1 November 2023 with bunker suppliers, including the top 10 bunker players, in Singapore.

To further enhance transparency and transaction integrity in bunkering operations, MPA will also introduce a centralised e-BDN record verification facility. This enables key stakeholders to verify the e-BDN received against the information transmitted to MPA.

EnterpriseSG has also launched the revised Singapore Standard (SS) 648 Code of Practice for Bunker Mass Flow Metering to include data integrity and transmission requirements in line with this new digital standard.

In the first eight months of 2024, MPA said Singapore saw strong growth of approximately 7% in total bunker sales over the same period last year, reaching over 36 million tonnes. Biofuels and liquefied natural gas bunker sales surpassed 700,00 metric tonnes.

To support the operationalisation of a higher mix of low-carbon alternative fuels, both EnterpriseSG and MPA are developing the Singapore standards for methanol bunkering and ammonia bunkering by 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The standards will cover custody transfer requirements, safety procedures and crew competencies, to ensure safe bunkering operations and handling of these fuels.

MPA also announced that three major shipping lines — Hafnia, K-Line, and MOL — are in early discussions to join the Singapore - Port of Los Angeles (LA)- Port of Long Beach (LB) Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) initiative.

Each partner would be expected to spearhead a project to advance the corridor’s decarbonisation and digitalisation goals, such as the adoption of net-zero fuels, Just-in-Time route optimisation, and energy efficiency technologies such as wind-assisted ship propulsion.

The addition of the new partners will significantly strengthen the GDSC’s capacity to drive innovation in sustainable shipping practices and accelerate the adoption of zero/near-zero emission fuels and green technologies along the corridor.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 10 October, 2024

Alternative Fuels

SIBCON 2024: SGMF releases methanol and ammonia bunkering guidelines

SFMF published Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia; also revealed new brand to reflect four key future marine fuels.

Published

16 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: SGMF releases methanol and ammonia bunkering guidelines

SGMF on Wednesday (9 October) announced the release of the Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia.

During the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON), SGMF also revealed its new brand reflecting the organisation’s current activities in the four key marine fuels for the future: LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen.

SGMF is a membership-based organisation leading safe maritime decarbonisation with members across the full value chain of marine fuels, including suppliers, operators, owners, equipment manufacturers, class societies, port authorities, individuals and training organisations.

While the search for the perfect alternative fuel continues, SGMF said methanol and ammonia are two of the fuels that the global merchant fleet has identified and is looking to implement, emphasising the importance of these guidelines.

Methanol – With the first vessels already running on methanol, and many more on order, methanol is ahead of the curve in terms of adoption. It has also overtaken regulation, meaning that these early adopters are having to put forward safety solutions that have not yet been documented, and bunker suppliers using existing chemical carriers are trying to second guess what conversion and equipment may be needed to make their vessels physically compatible with the ships being produced. These methanol bunkering guidelines have been published as a first draft to highlight the key safety factors that need to be considered when designing and bunkering a vessel of any type with methanol.

Ammonia – Despite ammonia (NH3) not yet being commercially available as a marine fuel, this bunkering document provides guidance to all the stakeholders currently investigating and developing the bunkering of ships with fully refrigerated (-33°C) ammonia.

A range of potential hazards are expected with bunkering ammonia and to date there is very limited experience, with only one series of bunkering trials conducted as at March 2024.

As a result, Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia draws primarily on the current experience of LNG bunkering, the wider ammonia marine transport industry and the shoreside ammonia production and transport industry experience.

“The overall aim of these guidelines is therefore to ensure that ammonia-fuelled ships are bunkered safely, reliably, efficiently and in an environmentally responsible way, targeting the avoidance of operational or fugitive emissions of ammonia,” SGMF added.

These publications have been compiled with extensive input from the SGMF membership, as well as with collaborative support from the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS).

Note: The bunkering guidelines are available in the shop on SGMF portal and the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia can be downloaded through its free resources section.

Photo credit: SGMF
Published: 10 October, 2024

LNG Bunkering

Bunker One to launch physical LNG bunker fuel supply in January 2025

Firm has established Bunker One LNG BV, which will manage the physical LNG fuel portfolio, including last-mile delivery, and will be headed by Managing Director, Michael Behmerburg.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

Bunker One to launch physical LNG bunker fuel supply in January 2025

Bunker Holding’s physical supply division, Bunker One, on Wednesday (9 October) said it is set to launch LNG bunker supply in northwestern Europe as of January 2025.

Building on its existing successful activities supplying alternative fuels, Bunker One is expanding its current fuels portfolio by adding physical LNG and mass balanced LBM (Liquefied Biomethane). Bunker One expects to be ready to commence first physical LNG deliveries in January 2025.

Bunker One has established a new entity, Bunker One LNG BV, which will manage the physical LNG fuel portfolio including last-mile delivery and will be headed by Managing Director, Michael Behmerburg.

Peter Zachariassen, CEO of Bunker One, said: “We are extremely pleased to be welcoming Michael Behmerburg to steer our Bunker One LNG entity. Michael brings a wealth of experience that is important for us to navigate properly in the upcoming transition.”

Bunker One LNG BV has chartered the 10,000 cbm LNG Bunker Vessel, Coral Fraseri.

Michael Behmerburg, said: “We are working hand in hand with the vessel’s owner Anthony Veder to bring the vessel into operation. The vessel will undergo a regular class renewal at the end of 2024, during which several modifications will be carried out to enhance her capabilities as an LNG bunker vessel.”

The purpose of the modifications is to prepare the vessel for best-in-class service to the majority of seagoing vessels, including tankers, container ships, and car carriers. Bunker One LNG BV is currently in the process of securing bunker permits which will cover key ports in Northwest Europe.

Valerie Ahrens, Senior Director of New Fuels and Carbon Markets at Bunker Holding, said: “We are very excited about this move to include physical supply of LNG and LBM as part of Bunker Holding’s fuel offering, which builds on our successful activities supplying LNG through third parties.”

“Fossil LNG can offer up to 23% in greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions compared to conventional fuels and accompanies shipping’s transition to a multi-fuel future. Hence, we regard LNG as a stepping stone to bio-LNG and e-LNG, which will help the industry achieve the mid-century decarbonisation targets set by the IMO.”

Photo credit: Bunker Holding
Published: 10 October, 2024