LNG, methanol and B24 bunkered at Ningbo-Zhoushan on same day
This was the first time three different marine fuels had been supplied on the same day to different vessels berthed at the same port in China, according to the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration (MSA).
IMAGE: Heavy cranes at Ningbo-Zhoushan port. Getty Images
The LNG bunker vessel Haiyang Shiyou 302 delivered around 7,400 cbm (3,300 mt) of LNG at the Chuanshan port area on 30 September.
The methanol bunker vessel Zhongran Green Energy 85 supplied around 7,500 mt of methanol at Meishan terminal, while Sijie 21 delivered around 3,000 mt of B24 biofuel blend at Daxie terminal.
The report did not disclose the names of the receiving vessels or the fuel suppliers.
The three bunkering operations marked the first time in China that three different marine fuels were supplied simultaneously to vessels berthed at the same port, according to the Ningbo MSA.
“The ‘one port, three supplies’ model signifies a diversified and large-scale breakthrough" in the alternative fuel bunkering capacity of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Ningbo MSA added.
Rise of methanol bunkering in China
The methanol delivery also set a new record for the largest single methanol bunkering operation in Zhejiang province, the port authority said.
Several Chinese ports have expanded their methanol bunkering activities over the past month.
On 28 September, Sinobunker's bunker vessel Daqing 268 supplied 300 mt of bio-methanol to COSCO's container ship Carnation at the Nansha terminal in the Port of Guangzhou. The fuel was transferred via a ship-to-ship pipeline connection.
The operation followed an earlier delivery by Daqing 268 of around 1,000 mt of pure bio-methanol to NYK Group's dual-fuel bulk carrier Green Future at Guangzhou's Lantau Anchorage. Bio-methanol in this operation was supplied by CIMC Enric.
These two deliveries demonstrate Guangzhou Port's ability to handle methanol bunkering at both terminals and anchorages, according to the port authority.
Daqing 268 has also carried out methanol bunkering operations at terminals and anchorages in Shenzhen's Yantian port area, Hong Kong and Ningbo.
By Konica Bhatt
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