Methanol Bunkering Gaining Interest Among Global Players
Denmark's Maersk said on Monday it has secured fuel for the world's first container vessel able to run on carbon-neutral methanol for its inaugural journey.
Interest in methanol as an alternative fuel for bunkering has grown in the shipping industry, which seeks to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Below is a list of key upcoming methanol bunkering-related projects by companies and ports:
COMPANIES:
*A.P. Moller-Maersk
Maersk has ordered 19 methanol-enabled ships to work towards a goal of transporting 25% of its ocean cargo using green fuels by 2030. The world's first such ship will arrive in Copenhagen on its maiden voyage this year and be christened on Sept. 14.
Also, a dozen methanol-fuelled 16,000-twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels, to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries 329180.KS, will be delivered to Maersk in 2024, and six 17,000-TEU ships are planned for 2025 delivery.
*CMA CGM
CMA has ordered at least 18 methanol-fuelled vessels. It ordered six 15,000-TEU containers from China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) SASACN.UL last June, with delivery planned for 2025, and another 12 such vessels in April this year, as part of a record $3 billion deal with CSSC.
*COSCO Shipping Holdings
The company ordered 12 methanol-powered 24,000-TEU ships last October, worth nearly $2.9 billion, that will be delivered between the third quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2028. This month, the Chinese boxship giant added four more 16,000-TEU ships to be built in Yangzhou.
*HMM Company Limited
Nine 9,000-TEU dual-fuelled ships will be delivered to HMM between 2025 and 2026. They will be built at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) and HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (HJSC) in the port of Yeongnam.
*Stena Bulk
The tanker company has partnered with methanol producer Proman and completed its first U.S. Gulf Coast barge-to-ship methanol bunkering at Houston port in April.
PORTS:
*China
COSCO, CMA CGM and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in April to procure, supply and deliver green methanol fuel at major ports in China.
In March, Maersk signed an MoU with SIPG to explore green methanol bunkering for its container vessels coming in 2024.
*Singapore
The first methanol bunkering pilot at the world's largest bunkering hub will be conducted by Maersk Oil Trading, Mitsui & Co, Mitsui & Co Energy Trading Singapore, and American Bureau of Shipping in the third quarter of 2023.
*Melbourne
The port in April signed an MoU with Maersk, Svitzer Australia, CMA-CGM subsidiary ANL, Stolthaven Terminals, as well as fuel producers HAMR Energy and ABEL Energy, to explore commercial feasibility of establishing a green methanol bunkering hub in Australia's largest container port.
*Sweden
The port of Gothenburg in January completed the world's first ship-to-ship methanol bunkering on Stena Germanica, the world’s first methanol-powered ferry. The port will team up with Inter Terminals Sweden (ITS) to develop a methanol storage facility by end-2023.
*Egypt
Alexandria National Refining and Petrochemicals (ANRPC) signed a $450 million agreement in May with Norway's Scatec to produce Egypt's first green methanol.
(Reuters - Reporting by Carman Chew and Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Tom Hogue)