Fuel Oil News

Well-to-Wake: Scrubbers Beat HFO on Environmental Performance

Researchers from MIT and Georgia Tech have concluded that burning heavy fuel oil with scrubbers in the open ocean can match or surpass using low-sulfur fuels when a wide variety of environmental factors is considered.The scientists combined data on the production and operation of scrubbers and fuels with emissions measurements taken onboard a bulk carrier owned by Oldendorff Carriers. Gaseous and particulate matter (PM) emissions data were collected while the bulk carrier  was burning 3%S HFO…

MOL, BHP Wrap Up Biofuel Bunkering on Capesize Bulk Carrier

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has completed a biodiesel-blended marine fuel (biofuel) bunkering on its capsize bulk carrier, Midnight Dream.In March 2025, the vessel was supplied with about 1,000 tons of biofuel in Singapore, initiating MOL’s first biofuel utilization in collaboration with BHP Group on a capesize bulk carrier.Biofuel is made from organic resources (biomass) of biological origin, such as agricultural residues and waste cooking oil.The biofuel bunkered in the most recent operation is a blend of about 24% biodiesel (B24) with Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO)…

Retrofit Analysis Prepares Kamsarmax Bulk Carrier for Methanol

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has gained Approval in Principle (AiP) from ClassNK for the retrofitting of a conventionally fueled Kamsarmax bulk carrier to dual fuel methanol.Led in collaboration with Japanese shipbuilder Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, the project assessed the techno-economic feasibility of a retrofit from fuel oil to dual fuel methanol, establishing a model that could pave the way for a broader green transition within the medium size bulk carrier sector.With Kamsarmax bulk carriers representing a significant share of the existing fleet…

Baltic Exchange Launches Fuel Equivalence Converter

The Baltic Exchange has launched the maritime industry’s first free Fuel Equivalence Converter, a digital calculator that helps owners, traders, brokers and charterers to navigate the complexity of the physical properties of the wide variety of marine fuels that are currently available on the market.The converter enables users to compare the mass, volume and energy content of various traditional bunker and green fuel options to better understand how their bunker supplies would…

Bureau Veritas Delivers Final CMA CGM Container Ship in Series

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (BV) has successfully delivered the CMA CGM TIGA, the last of ten 5500TEU container ships built for CMA CGM at CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding. This marks the completion of a major project for which BV provided classification services and Bureau Veritas Solutions M&O provided advisory services, helping to ensure compliance with international safety, structural integrity and environmental protection requirements.The CMA CGM TIGA, a new-generation…

LNG Critical to Energy Transition Says Lloyd’s Register

Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) latest Fuel for Thought report states that LNG remains the dominant alternative marine fuel readily available to the shipping industry. The report highlights LNG’s growing adoption, its cost-effectiveness under tightening emissions regulations and the urgent need to address methane slip to ensure its future as a viable low-carbon fuel.Fuel for Thought: LNG reveals a significant resurgence in orders for LNG-capable vessels, with an expanding global fleet and rapidly growing bunkering infrastructure.

Iranian Oil Tankers Used Forged Iraqi Documents, Says Oil Minister

Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said that Iranian oil tankers seized by U.S. forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents.The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has restored "maximum pressure" on Iran, reviving a policy that seeks to isolate the country from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenue in order to slow Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon.Abdel-Ghani was asked if he had received messages from the United States over the…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Books Order for Three Methanol-Fueled RoRos

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has received additional orders for three methanol-fueled roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargo ships from Toyofuji Shipping, Miyazaki Sangyo Kaiun, and Nichitoku Kisen.The three ships will be built at the Enoura Plant of MHI's Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture, with scheduled completion and delivery in order from fiscal 2028.The ships will be approximately 168.0 meters in overall length and 30.2 meters in breadth…

MOL Charters Two More VLEC Newbuilds to SCG Chemicals

MOL Energia, a subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), has signed long-term charter contracts with SCG Chemicals, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Siam Cement Group (SCG), for two very large ethane carriers (VLECs), to be built in South Korea.The charter for two more VLECs comes in addition to three vessels already contracted by SCG Chemicals in January 2025.Of the approximately 90 dedicated liquefied ethane carriers currently in service or on order worldwide, this deal will…

Fujairah: Bunker Fuel Sales Drop to their Lowest Since '21

Marine fuel sales in the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah, the world's third-largest bunkering hub, fell in February to their lowest since data started being published in 2021. Volumes, excluding lubricants, totalled 554,117 cubic metres (about 549,000 metric tons) for February, showed latest Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights.The decline reflects slower refuelling demand at key bunker ports in the year so far, against a backdrop of global shipping uncertainty.

Singapore Marine Fuel Sales Drop

Singapore marine fuel sales fell to their lowest in 20 months in February, official data showed on Friday. Volumes at the world's top bunker hub totalled 4.15 million metric tons, down 7.1% month on month and sliding 8.1% year on year, data from Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) showed.Weak demand has weighed on the market since the start of the year, dragging premiums down, trade sources said. Vessel calls for bunkering fell by 14.1% from the prior month to 3,075, hitting two-year lows, data showed.

Dual-Fuel LNG Tractor Tug Delivered to Turkish Owner

The 39-metre tug Silivri has been delivered to The BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation in Turkey.The TRAktor V3900-DF series tug was recently completed at Uzmar Shipyard to a design by Robert Allan Ltd.Silivri is only the second vessel in the world to combine Voith Schneider propulsion with dual-fuel LNG/diesel engines. This unique arrangement has only been combined once before, on her sistership Sultanhani, delivered earlier in the year to the same owner.Equipped with Wärtsilä 6L34DF engines and 32X6 Voith Schneider propellers…

U.S. Targets 'Shadow Fleet', Iran's Oil Minister

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad and some Hong Kong-flagged vessels that are part of a shadow fleet that helps disguise Iranian oil shipments, the Treasury Department said.President Donald Trumpre-imposed a "maximum pressure" policy on Iran in February that includes efforts to drive its oil exports to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and funding militant groups.Paknejad "oversees the export of tens…

"K" Line Secures ‘Zero-Emission Accelerating Ship Finance’

Increasingly, maritime finance is tied to the environmental impact of the asset or project.Under Zero-Emission Accelerating Ship Finance (the Program), which is jointly operated by the Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ) and ClassNK, ClassNK evaluated the LNG-fueled car carrier OCEANUS HIGHWAY (IMO No. 1046049), owned by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" LINE). DBJ provided financing to "K" LINE.ClassNK evaluates ships based on a comprehensive scoring model jointly developed with DBJ from the perspective of ‘decarbonization…

Incorrect Valve Led to Deadly Engine Room Fire

The installation of an incorrect valve in a pipe to a diesel oil tank led to a fatal fire aboard a cargo vessel docked in LaPorte, Texas, an National Transportation Safety Board shows.On Jan. 8, 2024, a fire broke out in the engine room aboard the cargo vessel Stride during bunkering, or fueling, operations while docked at the Barbours Cut Marine Terminal. The fire self-extinguished after crewmembers shut down all ventilation to the engine room. Two crewmembers died as a result of the fire and one was seriously injured.

Twelve Large Container Ships to Have GTT LNG Fuel Tanks

GTT has received an order from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to design the cryogenic fuel tanks for 12 new LNG-fuelled container vessels on behalf of a European shipowner.The Mark III Flex membrane tanks will have a capacity of 12,750 cubic metres and the “1 barg” design, which allows an effective operating pressure of up to 1 barg instead of the customary 0.7 barg.The Mark III membrane system is a containment and insulation system directly supported by the ship’s hull structure.

Phillips 66 Leases Floating Storage Vessel in Singapore

The Singapore trading arm of U.S.-based refiner Phillips 66 has recently leased a new floating storage vessel along the Singapore and Malacca Straits for storing fuel oil, market sources told Reuters.The 300,000 metric-tons capacity Southern Emperor is the latest addition to 19 existing fuel oil floating storage vessels along the Straits chartered by various market participants, said sources.So far, Phillips 66 has been partially renting the EM Splendour for fuel oil storage.The Singapore and Malacca Straits are a key location for fuel oil storage in Asia, with traders building inventories of

MAN Methanol Genset Obtains Type Approval

MAN Energy Solutions' MAN 7L21/31DF-M (dual fuel-methanol) genset has successfully passed its Type Approval Test in China.The test was carried out in close cooperation with CSSC Marine Power (CMP) – the MAN Energy Solutions licensee – at CMP’s production facility in Zhenjiang and received approval from all major classification societies present at the event.The basis for the new methanol engine concept is the MAN 21/31 Mk II type that is part-load optimized with a world-best specific fuel-oil consumption in the 1–2MW range.

Goltens Signs Distribution Deal SEA-Mate

Goltens Worldwide announced a new distribution agreement with Denmark's Marine Fluid Technology A/S (MFT) covering MFT’s SEA-Mate Blending-on-Board (BOB) system, SEA-Mate Filter system and other SEA-Mate products across key maritime markets in Singapore, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, and the Middle East including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar.SEA-Mate Blending-on-Board is touted as a revolutionary technology designed for ship owners to rethink their lubrication oil use by recycling and enhancing engine efficiency and reducing operating costs…

MITSUI E&S Commences Full-Scale Ammonia Two-Stroke Testing

MITSUI E&S has announced the beginning of the test phase for the world’s first commercial, two-stroke, dual-fuel ammonia engine. The MAN B&W 7S60ME-LGIA (-Liquid Gas Injection Ammonia) Mk 10.5 prototype engine began its ammonia fuel test-run at MITSUI E&S’s Tamano Factory in Japan.The 60-bore engine will eventually be installed aboard a 200,000-dwt bulk carrier at Imabari Shipbuilding for a joint venture between “K” LINE, NS United and ITOCHU Corp. It also features MAN Energy…

Ship Runs Aground off Sakhalin Island

A district in Russia's Sakhalin region has been put on high alert after a Chinese cargo ship ran aground off the southwest coast of the Sakhalin Island, the governor of the region in Russia's Far East said early on Sunday.The Chinese bulk carrier An Yang 2 is reported to have 20 crew members and 700 tons of fuel oil onboard as well as 100 tons of diesel fuel and 1,000 tons of coal.No fuel spillage was recorded and there was no threat to the crew, but the situation required readiness for any scenario…

Marine Fuel Sales Soar After Red Sea Diversions

Global marine fuel sales jumped in 2024 after attacks by Yemen's Houthis starting in late 2023 prompted most shipping companies to divert vessels around southern Africa rather than through the Red Sea, according to data and analysts.Singapore bunker volumes logged fresh highs of 54.92 million metric tons in 2024, or about 955,000 barrels per day (bpd), while sales at United Arab Emirates' Fujairah posted the first annual uptick after a downtrend for several years.Rotterdam marine fuel sales rose 12% in the first quarter of 2024 to 2.16 million tons, or about 38,000 bpd from the previous three

Singapore Leads Table-Top Oil Spill Response Exercise

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has conducted a table-top exercise with Indonesia and Malaysia to enhance regional coordination and strengthen response capabilities for oil spills. The exercise brought together over 20 representatives from MPA, Indonesia’s Directorate General of Sea Transportation, Malaysia’s Environment Department, and oil spill response experts from ITOPF.As part of Singapore’s chairmanship of the Revolving Fund Committee (RFC) from April 2022 until March 2027, MPA led the exercise to foster collaboration.