Port of Santos starts ethanol bunkering for ships

The operation marks the transition from a trial to a regular ethanol supply model, the Santos port authority said.

IMAGE: Methanol-capable container ship, CMA CGM Iron. Facebook of CMA CGM

The first operation took place on 19 October, when the 13,000 TEU container ship CMA CGM IRON was refuelled at the Port of Santos. The vessel has an Everllence tri-fuel engine, which the partners said is the world’s first certified to operate on ethanol.

This follows the pilot operation carried out in July, through a partnership between CMA CGM, Copersucar, Bunker One, AGEO Terminais, Santos Brasil and the Santos Port Authority (APS).

"Following the first operation carried out in July, we are now moving into a new phase, demonstrating that ethanol can be incorporated into maritime operations safely, reliably and on a commercial scale," said Giovani Grassi, CEO of CMA CGM Brazil.

Ethanol produced by mills associated with Copersucar is supplied and transported to the Port of Santos by Evolua Etanol, Copersucar’s ethanol trading arm. It is stored at the port by AGEO Terminais, a liquid bulk storage operator.

For the refuelling phase, which takes place at the Santos Brasil terminal, Bunker One created a protocol taking into account the low flash point of the fuel. The company claims the protocol is a first of its kind in Latin America.

Citing figures from classification society DNV, the port authority said 159 ships already operate with methanol-capable engines that can also take ethanol, and more than 450 newbuilds with the same technology are due for delivery by 2030.

By Gautamee Hazarika

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