Methane News

Tallinna Sadam and JetGas OÜ have signed an agreement for establishment of a liquefied methane terminal in Muuga Harbour, located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland.According to the agreement, JetGas will build a liquified methane terminal with up to five storage tanks in stages, with a connecting pipeline to the quayline, by 2030 at the latest.The launch of the first stage of the terminal with the construction of one tank is planned for the end of 2027.Tallinna Sadam…

Technology group Wärtsilä, in partnership with Chevron Shipping Company, plans to convert one engine on six of Chevron Transport Corporation LNG Carriers from dual-fuel (DF) to spark gas (SG) operation to reduce methane emissions.The conversions are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by lowering methane slip in support of Chevron Shipping’s broader efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations.The ‘marine industry first’ was made possible after two years of…

The Transport Emission Control Team at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has released a study of methane slip and other emissions from an LNG-powered marine engine operating under real-life conditions.The now published study ‘Methane slip and other emissions from newbuild LNG engine under real-world operation of a state-of-the art cruise ship' details the results of a study conducted on the newbuild cruise ship MSC World Europa. One of its five engines, a Wartsila 46DF…

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) has released a new report: Tackling methane slip in shipping.Past research at the MMMCZCS has demonstrated that current regulations that include methane, such as CO2-equivalent fuel standards (e.g., FuelEU Maritime), will have a limited effect on reducing onboard methane emissions in the short- to mid-term. Furthermore, the default methane slip value concept does not provide a direct incentive to engine makers…

The world's largest cruise ship is set for its maiden voyage on Saturday, but environmental groups are concerned that the liquefied natural gas-powered vessel - and other giant cruise liners to follow - will leak harmful methane into the atmosphere.Royal Caribbean International's Icon of the Seas sets sail from Miami with capacity for 8,000 passengers across 20 decks, taking advantage of the surging popularity of cruises.The ship is built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which burns more cleanly than traditional marine fuel but poses greater risks for methane emissions.

The Biden administration on Saturday unveiled final rules aimed at cracking down on US oil and gas industry releases of methane, part of a global plan to rein in emissions that contribute to climate change.The rules, two years in the making, were announced by US officials at the United Nations COP28 climate change conference in Dubai. The US and other nations attending the summit are expected to detail how they will achieve a 150-country pledge made two years ago to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.Methane tends to leak into the atmosphere undetected from drill sites…

Delegates at this year's U.N. COP28 climate summit are anxious to boost the world's climate change agenda with concrete plans for clamping down on the second-most prominent greenhouse gas – methane.While more than 150 countries have promised since 2021 to slash their methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 under the U.S.- and EU-led Global Methane Pledge, few have detailed how they will achieve this.What is needed now is to turn those pledges into urgent action – with financial…

MAN Energy Solutions has announced that it is developing an oxidation catalyst for four-stroke engines that will significantly reduce methane slip. Called ‘IMOKAT II’ and developed at MAN Energy Solutions’ headquarters in Augsburg, Germany, the research project is currently undergoing testing at the company’s Frederikshavn, Denmark facility.Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Action, the new project will investigate the operational experience of a pre-turbo methane-oxidation catalyst…

The European Council and Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement on a regulation for tracking and reducing methane emissions in the energy sector.The regulation introduces new requirements for the oil, gas and coal sectors to measure, report and verify methane emissions, as well as put in place mitigation measures to avoid such emissions, including detecting and repairing methane leaks and limiting venting and flaring. It also puts forward global monitoring tools to ensure transparency on methane emissions from imports of oil…

Wärtsilä and Swedish shipping company Furetank are co-developing and testing two technologies showing the potential to halve the methane slip.Running vessels on LNG or bio-LNG reduces emissions of CO2, NOx, SOx and harmful particles, but the downside is methane slip: the release of unburned gas fuel, not fully combusted in the engines.Although the fraction released is small, methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.Two technical solutions have been tested in Furetank’s Vinga series tankers.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that the second of Japan's first two LNG-fueled ferries, the Sunflower Murasaki, has entered service.The vessel is owned by MOL and operated by its group company Ferry Sunflower. The vessel is a sister ship to the Sunflower Kurenai, which began operation in January, and will sail the Osaka-Beppu route between Sunflower Ferry Terminal (Osaka) and Beppu International Tourist Port (Oita) as a replacement for the existing vessel Sunflower Cobalt.The 17…

The total number of ships with alternative fuels ordered in 2022 was 275 (excluding battery operated vessels), according to  numbers released today from DNV viat its Alternative Fuels Insight report.In addition, more than 50 LPG carriers have been ordered with LPG dual fuel systems. Predictably, LNG led the way with 222 ships or 81 % of total orders. Seventy-four percent of these orders were for container vessels and Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs), while product tankers came in third representing 9 % of orders.

Ship Carbon Recycling Working Group of Japan's Carbon Capture & Reuse Study Group has said that carbon recycled methane produced by methanation technology can be recognized as zero-emission ship fuel.Methanation has been described as a technology for synthesizing methane, the main component in natural gas, by causing a chemical reaction between hydrogen and CO2 in a reactor vessel filled with a catalyst.It uses emitted CO2 separated and captured from industrial facilities. As the CO2 generated when combusting synthesized methane is considered to be offset by the separated and captured CO2…