OCI to supply bio-methanol for Maersk’s inaugural methanol-powered voyage

Danish Shipping major A.P. Moller-Maersk’s (Maersk) first dual-fuelled methanol-fueled container ship will run on bio-methanol supplied by OCI Global during its maiden voyage.

PHOTO: A model of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s 2,100 TEU dual-fuelled methanol feeder vessel. A.P. Moller-Maersk

Bio-methanol is produced using sustainable biomass as a feedstock to generate syngas. The production requires little to no fossil fuel usage, thereby reducing its overall carbon footprint. However, it emits CO2 and carbon monoxide, which are naturally present in the waste streams.

The 2,100-TEU feeder vessel will make its debut trip this summer from South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard to Copenhagen via the Suez Canal. Along the way, it will bunker at several major ports, said OCI.

In Europe, the vessel will operate on a shipping route between Rotterdam and the Bay of Bothnia in the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea.

The Netherlands-based methanol producer is awaiting approvals and permits to "commercially bunker methanol in several ports on its voyage, including the Port of Rotterdam", according to OCI. This will make it the first commercial methanol bunker operator in these regions, the company claimed.

OCI will also enhance its road fuel logistics and fuel blending system and expand its green bunker barge fleet as demand rises, said OCI Hyfuels’ chief executive Bashir Lebada.

The Dutch green fuel supplier predicts "incremental global methanol demand" from the shipping sector at 4 million mt/year in the next five years, based on current orders for new vessels and as new regulations, such as FuelEU Maritime, are implemented.

By Konica Bhatt

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