Bunker Fuels News

Despite becoming a major developer of alternative fuels for the maritime sector, Sweden is facing limited access to the wider European market. Nils Igelström, Managing Director of GAC Sweden, discusses the need for greater clarity to prevent shipping’s energy transition stalling.Sweden is in a very strong position to support the maritime sector’s alternative fuel development. Tied closely to the country’s own goal of reaching net zero by 2045, it is investing heavily in infrastructure project to develop biofuels…

Port authorities in Singapore and Rotterdam said they have not received reports of vessels experiencing problems related to the use of cashew nutshell liquid biofuel - an issue highlighted by fuel testing agency CTI-Maritec last week.Several ships using the two ports reported operational problems in recent months after using marine fuel blended with cashew nutshell liquid, the Singapore-based agency said on Thursday, adding that the cashew nutshell liquid had come from undeclared source materials or production processes.The operational problems included fuel sludging…

Several ships in Singapore and Rotterdam reported operational problems in recent months after using marine fuel blended with cashew nutshell liquid biofuel, fuel testing agency CTI-Maritec said in an advisory on Thursday.Singapore-based CTI-Maritec said it tested samples from the affected ships and found the marine fuel was blended with cashew nutshell liquid that came from undeclared source materials or production processes.The ships had reported operational problems including fuel sludging…

New standards for bunkering methanol and ammonia will be developed by 2024 and 2025 respectively, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Wednesday.The world's largest vessel refueling hub is preparing for higher uptake of alternative bunker fuels, which shippers are considering using to help lower carbon emissions."The standards will cover custody transfer requirements, safety procedures and crew competencies, to ensure safe bunkering operations and handling of these fuels," MPA said in a statement issued during SIBCON 2024.There are currently no detailed standards or estab

Vitol Bunkers has taken delivery of the Marine Future vessel, its first specialized biofuel bunker barge in Singapore.The addition of this specialized IMO type 2 notation bunker tanker to the V-Bunkers fleet will make it possible to supply biofuel blends including B24, B30 and up to B100, depending on customer specifications.Built in China, Marine Future is 102.6m in length and has the capacity to carry about 7,000 MT of biofuels.The current fleet of bunker tankers in Singapore are classified as ‘oil tankers’ and are therefore restricted to a maximum of 25% bio component in biofuel blends.

Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services, TFG Marine and Sinopec Fuel Oil Singapore were the top three marine bunker suppliers in Singapore, the world's largest bunker hub, in 2023, latest data from the port authority showed.Equatorial maintained its top position for a second consecutive year, while Trafigura's TFG Marine rose one spot to become the second largest supplier, data from Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority showed.Sinopec Fuel Oil Singapore jumped 16 spots to become the third largest supplier, the data showed.

Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s Acting Minister for Transport, announced a record year in 2023 at a Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year Conversations event.The annual vessel arrival tonnage in the Port of Singapore crossed three billion gross tonnage (GT) for the first time, increasing by 9.4% over 2022 and setting a high of 3.09 billion GT in 2023. This reflects growth in all segments, including container ships, dry bulk carriers, liquid bulk and chemical tankers, ferries and specialised vessels…

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge Clean Canaveral completed its first barge-to-ship bunkering of a cargo vessel at Port Canaveral’s South Cargo Berth 4. JAX LNG, along with Polaris New Energy, handled the LNG refueling of the Damia Desgagnés on the ship’s inaugural call to Port Canaveral. The asphalt/bitumen tanker Damia Desgagnés completed her discharge of cargo and then JAX LNG proceeded with Desgagnés’s first barge-to-ship bunkering of LNG. The seafarers safely transferred approximately 400 cubic meters of LNG from North America’s largest LNG bunker barge…

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has submitted proposals to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 107) which will be meeting later this week in a bid to improve understanding and workability of new flashpoint regulations for fuel oil.MSC 107 will meet from 31 May to 9 June and will continue discussion on an agenda item for the development of further measures to enhance the safety of ships relating to the use of fuel oil. In essence, the aim is to introduce increased control on the supply of bunker fuels.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched new price assessments for tanker base freight rates that factor in pricing for alternative fuels, the agency said on Tuesday.The move comes as the agency expects the maritime sector's use of alternative fuels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) to grow significantly in the next few years.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions, yet environmental campaigners…

UAE's Fujairah must step up investments for storage and supply of new alternative fuels as these markets are still lacking traction at the world's third-largest bunkering hub despite the urgency for maritime decarbonization, industry executives said on Wednesday.The maritime industry must seek out alternative fuels to meet carbon emission reduction targets set out by the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization, which include cutting carbon emissions by 40% from 2008 levels by 2030 and overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2050.Despite being a key bunkering port…

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd is seeing a small uptick in demand for shipping after a decline in recent months, but the company on Tuesday reiterated its more muted outlook for the industry as pandemic disruption fades.The container business, a bellwether of global economic trends, had seen a noticeable contraction in demand in September and October as economies around the world grappled with sharply spiking inflation and cost-of-living crises in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."I don't think the market is as weak as it was four or eight weeks ago…

Rotterdam, Europe's biggest port, plans to make mass flow meters, which can measure fuel supplies more accurately, compulsory for ship refueling, a spokesperson for the port told Reuters on Thursday. The move aims to boost transparency and efficiency to avoid disputes over fuel volumes that sometimes occur during refueling, a process known as bunkering. Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, made mass flow meters compulsory for ship refueling in 2017 and is the only port to have done so until now.

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels has moved closer to starting its LNG bunkering services in  Singapore, following a ship naming ceremony of the Brassavola LNG bunker vessel that was held at Sembcorp Marine’s Tuas Boulevard Yard on Tuesday.Measuring 116.5m in length and 22m in width with a capacity of 12,000m3, the ship will be the largest LNG bunker vessel for use in service in the Port of Singapore. The Brassavola is scheduled to be operational in the first quarter of 2023. Louise Tricoire…

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has directed the government to cooperate with AP Moeller-Maersk to establish a network to produce and distribute green energy and clean fuels for ships, a presidency spokesperson said on Monday.Maersk Chief Executive Soren Skou discussed with Sisi during their meeting a project to produce clean fuel for ships with investments of $15 billion, the statement added.There were no immediate details on the mechanism of the cooperation.(Reuters - Reporting by Moataz Mohamed; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Neste and Nordic Marine Oil have partnered to pilot a new Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed marine fuel in Scandinavia – a solution the pair claims will help the maritime sector reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: designed to cut up to 80% GHG emission reduction over the lifecycle compared to fossil fuels.“At Neste, we are dedicated to helping our customers and the entire value chain to reduce their GHG emissions. In 2021, our renewable products helped customers to reduce 10.9 million tons of their GHG emissions. Maritime is one of the largest sources of transport emissions.

The Clean Canaveral, a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge operating along the coast of the southeastern United States, recently completed its inaugural bunkering in Jacksonville, Fla. The Clean Canaveral has a capacity of 5,500 cubic meters, making it the largest Jones Act LNG bunker barge. The vessel operates as an articulated tug barge unit (ATB) and is owned by Polaris New Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Seaside LNG Holdings.The operation marks the first barge-to-ship cool down performed in the United States.

GAC Bunker Fuels has opened a new office in Westport, Conn. to help global customers decarbonize in American ports and beyond.The office will be manned by liquefied natural gas (LNG), biofuel, low sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) and marine gasoil (MGO) experts Maurice Lara and John Lindquist, and will be carbon neutral.Beyond aligning with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, GAC Bunker Fuels has pledged zero oil-based bunker sales by January 1, 2030. On 1 September 2020…

After a successful completion of a B30 biofuel blend test on the Suezmax Statia (2006 – 150,205 dwt), Euronav has now successfully concluded a B50 biofuel blend trial on its Suezmax Marlin Sardinia (2019 – 156,607 dwt). The biofuel, by marine fuels supplier TFG Marine (the bunkering arm of Trafigura), was tested on its longevity and durability over a period of four months. This second trial confirms the potential of biofuel and the crucial role it plays in the decarbonization of shipping.In June 2021, the Suezmax Marlin Sardinia was bunkered with 240 MT of B50 biofuel blend from TFG Marine. Just as the B30 biofuel blend, the B50 was supplied in the port of Rotterdam…

While we await a definite ‘fuel of the future’, can retrofits be an economically viable option? Earlier in the year, the World Bank report denouncing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as not being environmentally sound left many owners who had invested in LNG perturbed. However, not all is lost, explains Tiago Braz, VP Product Area for Energy at Høglund Marine Solutions.When the World Bank released its report ‘Charting a Course for Decarbonizing Maritime Transport’ citing ammonia and hydrogen as the ‘most promising’ zero-carbon bunker fuels within the shipping industry…

Puget LNG and GAC Bunker Fuels have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine fuel from Puget LNG’s terminal to GAC’s customers in the Pacific Northwest.When the Tacoma LNG Terminal becomes operational in the second quarter of 2021, it will be the first such terminal on North America’s west coast providing direct shoreside loading access for a bunker barge.GAC Bunker Fuels, a division of the Dubai-based GAC Group, will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Jones Act-compliant LNG bunker barge to be constructed…

BHP Group Ltd said on Thursday it completed its first refueling of a ship with biofuel this month in a trial run that is part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.It was also the first time that a ship has been refueled with biofuel in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub.A biofuel blend derived from certified sustainable feedstock sources such as cooking oil, crude tall oil and sewage sludge was used on April 4 to refuel the 81,000 deadweight tonne dry bulk carrier…

Grand Wisdom, the second very large ore carrier (VLOC) to join the U-Ming Marine Transport fleet, has been delivered with a protective hull coating from Nippon Marine Paint’s A-LF Sea product range.Delivered in December from Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry’s shipyard in Qingdao, China, Grand Wisdom is the second in a pair of eco-friendly bulkers to join the owner’s 48-strong fleet. Sister ship Grand Pioneer, delivered in August, represented the Taipei-headquartered shipowner’s entry into the VLOC market.Motoi Takeuchi…