Wilson Sons and partners to conduct first HVO bunker fuel trial in Brazil

Brazilian integrated port and maritime logistics operator Wilson Sons on Thursday (30 January) said it received approval from Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) to conduct the first tests on using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) in the Brazilian maritime sector, with efen and Port of Açu as partners.

To replace marine diesel oil, efen will import HVO, also known as renewable diesel or green diesel, to be tested on Wilson Sons’ tugs in the Port of Açu, in São João da Barra (Rio de Janeiro). The liquid handling operation will be conducted at the Açu Liquid Bulk Terminal (TLA), owned by Vast Infraestrutura.

“After the testing period, we expect to expand the distribution of HVO to Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) and other offshore support vessels in the Port of Açu, encouraging the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the oil & gas supply chain,” said efen CEO Rafael Pinheiro.

The green diesel study in Açu includes efficiency testing, assessing the effects on maintenance processes, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Green diesel can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 80%, considering its complete life cycle.

“Our decarbonisation agenda does not only include building more efficient tugboats but also decreasing the environmental impact of our fleet of more than 80 vessels. In this context, HVO emerges as a promising solution, as it is a drop in fuel that does not require any adaptations to our equipment, representing an important choice for the port support industry,” said Marcio Castro, executive director at Wilson Sons Towage division.

“We want to foster energy transition projects in emission-intensive industries, such as shipping. In the future, we can set up HVO plants and other facilities for low-carbon fuels,” said Eugenio Figueiredo, CEO of Port of Açu.

Vast and Wilson Sons have also recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to test the use of biofuels on Wilson Sons’ tug operating at T-Oil, Vast’s oil terminal in the Port of Açu. The agreement aims to develop and offer logistics infrastructure services to help reduce the intensity of carbon emissions in the operations of both companies.

Vast is studying the possibility of using the TLA tank structure, which is yet to be built, to store and add biocomponents to marine fuels and capture liquids not currently planned for the Terminal.

Photo credit: Wilson Sons
Published: 3 February, 2025