The Week in Alternative Fuels
These are some of the key developments in alternative bunker fuels from the past week.
PHOTO: Spliethoff Group's multipurpose vessel, the Flevogracht, is running a 100% FAME biofuel trial. Spliethoff Group
Methanol received another boost from Maersk which ordered four additional methanol-powered 16,000 TEU containerships, taking its total methanol-fuelled newbuild count to 13. Renewable fuels provider WasteFuel, which counts Maersk among its investors, says it plans to provide bio-methanol for container ships. The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has released guidelines for classification of methanol-run or ethanol-run vessels, as it aims to cut risks for ships, crew and the environment.
ABS also granted an approval in-principle (AIP) for the design of an ammonia bunkering vessel this week. The vessel design is being developed by Singapore-based shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine and Japanese shipping companies Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Itochu Corporation.
Dutch ship operator Spliethoff Group is trialling 100% Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) based biofuel provided by GoodFuels on its vessel as part of its carbon-cutting measures.
French logistics company CMA CGM expanded its LNG-powered fleet with the delivery of the 15,000 TEU Everlade this week, which will operate in the Middle East and Mediterranean region.
Here are the top five stories in alternative fuels this week:
Maersk orders four more methanol-powered 16,000 TEU containerships, takes total to 12 vessels
Shipping giant A.P. Moller – Maersk has exercised an option for four more dual-fuel green methanol-powered containerships.
The vessels are expected to be inducted by 2025, according to a LinkedIn post by Jacob A. Sterling, head of decarbonisation innovation and business development at Maersk.
In August last year, Maersk ordered eight dual-fuel 16,000 TEU container vessels, measuring 350 metres in length and 53.5 metres in width. To be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the vessels can be run on green methanol and are VLSFO-compatible. The company plans to introduce this cohort by the first quarter of 2024.
The order included an option for four additional vessels by 2025.
Maersk plans to phase in the 12 vessels by mid-2025, Sterling says. The ships will replace older vessels in Maersk’s fleet and are expected to cut 1.5 million mt carbon dioxide emissions annually.
WasteFuel to provide bio-methanol for container ships
Low carbon biofuel provider WasteFuel says it bio-methanol can carbon dioxide emissions by 95% and nitrogen oxide emissions by 80% compared to conventional bunker fuels.
WasteFuel will initially offer bio-methanol for container ships.
“Methanol has exceptional appeal as a renewable fuel - it can use existing logistics infrastructure, works with proven engine designs and has a lower production cost relative to other renewable fuels,” says Mario De La Ossa, president at WasteFuel.
The company turns municipal and agricultural waste into low-carbon fuels, renewable natural gas, and green methanol.
WasteFuel, which is developing bio-refineries across Asia and the Americas, including a plant in the Philippines, received investment from shipping giant Maersk in September last year.
Maersk plans to launch 13 methanol-powered, dual-fuel container ships by 2025.
ABS releases guide for methanol-powered vessels
The American Bureau of Shipping has framed classification criteria for vessels run on methanol or ethanol with an eye on lowering risk to ships, crew and the environment.
The guide is based on the IMO’s ‘Interim Guidelines for the Safety of Ships Using Methyl/Ethyl Alcohol as Fuel’ which contain provisions on how to arrange, install, control and manage equipment on ships run on these fuels. ABS provides guidance on design, construction, and survey of vessels using methanol or ethanol as fuel.
ABS believes methanol holds great promise as a potential zero-emission bunker fuel that is set to be more widely adopted along with hydrogen, ammonia and other fuels.
Guidelines include suggestions on bunkering hose design, gas detectors, ventilation for bunkering stations as well as fire extinguishers suitable to put out flames emanating from methanol or ethanol.
ABS suggests keeping an “emergency shutdown facility” to stop bunker flow in the event of an emergency on board.
The guide is based on the ABS’s experience with multiple methanol-fuelled projects across vessel categories, says Patrick Ryan, senior vice president, global engineering and technology at ABS.
It applies to both newbuilds and retrofits on existing vessels, “regardless of size.” Vessels of less than 500 mt gross tonnage using methanol or ethanol as fuel are also covered by it.
Several maritime players are in the process of developing and building methanol-powered vessels and engines.
Container logistics giant Maersk has ordered large 12 methanol-powered container ships from Hyundai Heavy Industries. It plans to put them into use by mid-2025. These ships will follow suit from another smaller methanol-powered liner vessel that would to be the first of its kind when it is expected to come into operation next year.
Engine-maker Rolls-Royce is developing methanol-compatible engines for commercial ships and yachts.
Meanwhile, US-based Maritime Partners plans to operate the world’s first methanol-run towboat, the M/V Hydrogen One, in 2023.
MOL, Sembcorp Marine get ammonia bunkering vessel design approved
The American Bureau of Shipping has granted an approval in-principle (AIP) for the design of an ammonia bunkering vessel being developed by Singapore-based shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine and Japanese shipping companies Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Itochu Corporation.
The companies got the design approved after they conducted a study to identify potential hazards with handling ammonia. The vessel has been designed keeping ammonia toxicity in mind, says the shipmaker.
The design also incorporates inputs on cargo containment and bunkering systems from marine technology companies Wartsila Gas Solutions and KLAW LNG.
“This collaboration clearly underpins the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation’s (GCMD) ongoing pursuit to define the safety and operation envelopes to enable ammonia pilot demonstrations in Singapore,” says Sembcorp Marine president and chief executive Wong Weng Sun.
In December, Lynn Loo, chief executive officer at the Singapore-based GCMD, wrote on LinkedIn that green ammonia will be part of a “heterogeneous portfolio of fuels” that will make the future of bunkering.
The centre plans to commission a study to define the framework for safety and operations to pilot and demonstrate ammonia bunkering. Companies taking part in the study include shipowners MOL and NYK Line, engineering and infrastructure firms Keppel and Sembcorp Marine, and ammonia producer Yara.
Sembcorp says it is also developing a 12,000 cbm LNG bunkering vessel with MOL, which would be the largest such vessel in Singapore when it is built.
Spliethoff trials 100% biofuel bunkers from GoodFuels
Dutch ship operator Spliethoff Group has been trialling various Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) based biofuel blends on its vessels as part of its carbon-cutting measures.
Between June and November last year, Spliethoff trialled a 50-50% FAME-heavy fuel oil blend on the HTV BigLift Baffin, a heavy transport vessel operated by its subsidiary BigLift Shipping.
Tests were conducted to see how well the vessel ran on the biofuel blend and whether the blend can be stored long-term before use while retaining quality.
Spliethoff is currently testing 100% FAME biofuel on one of its multipurpose vessels, the Flevogracht, which was bunkered in Amsterdam on 13 December. If this trial proves successful, Spliethoff will look to offer biofueled shipping on certain trade routes.
Dutch biofuel supplier GoodFuels supplied the fuel for both of the trials.
GoodFuels has been testing biofuel blends with a range of shipping firms in recent months, including a trial on Eagle Bulk Shipping’s 63,528 dwt bulk carrier the MV Sydney Eagle in Terneuzen last December, claiming an 80-90% well-to-exhaust reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
CMA CGM expands LNG-powered fleet with the Everglade
French shipping firm CMA CGM took delivery of the 15,000 TEU Everlade this week, bolstering its fleet of LNG-powered container vessels.
The Everglade will operate on CMA CGM’s route in the Middle East and Mediterranean region.
This is the third vessel in a series of recent deliveries to CMA CGM by China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) Jiangnan Shipyard, and follows deliveries in September and December last year. Another two of these 15,000 TEU vessels will be delivered later this year, taking the total to five.
CMA CGM put in another big newbuild order with CSSC in April last year. Of the 22 new vessels in this order, 12 will be LNG-powered, while the remaining will be powered by VLSFO. The vessels are expected to join the group’s fleet by 2023 and 2024.
CMA CGM intends to operate 44 LNG-powered vessels by the end of 2024, in a step towards carbon emission reduction and the firm's stated goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
