Methanol-Fueled Stena Prosperous Christened in Singapore

Proman Stena Bulk, the joint venture between Stena Bulk and Proman, christened Stena Prosperous today during a ceremony at the Marina Bay Cruise Center in Singapore.  

After the ceremony, the 49,900 DWT IMOIIMeMAX vessel will be bunkered with a 20/80 green/conventional methanol blend, which delivers CO2e savings of 31% compared to the same voyage operated on Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), while making additional particulate matter (PM), sulphur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) savings. The blend delivers greenhouse gas emissions reductions below the 2025 target required by Fuel EU Maritime, further underlining methanol’s viability as a pathway fuel.

Stena Prosperous is the last of six vessels in Proman Stena Bulk’s joint venture fleet to be formally named, following the order for the six methanol-fuelled tankers being placed in 2019, and the first vessel being delivered in June 2022.

The naming ceremony was attended by representatives from Proman, Stena Bulk and guests and dignitaries from the wider shipping community. It concluded with the traditional christening and blessing, conducted by Mrs Krisztina Grütter, the vessel’s godmother.

Erik Hånell, President and CEO of Stena Bulk (left), Mrs Krisztina Grütter, the vessel’s godmother (center), David Cassidy, Chief Executive of Proman (right).
Image courtesy Proman Stena Bulk

The Energy Transition

“Singapore is the world’s most important bunkering hub, so it’s fantastic to celebrate the naming of Stena Prosperous here, as we also celebrate the role methanol is playing in the decarbonization of the industry," said David Cassidy, Chief Executive of Proman. "With its cleaner burning qualities, methanol delivers immediate air quality benefits today, and the pathway demonstrated by our 20/80 blending strategy here in Singapore means that ship owners are also increasingly seeing it as a viable marine fuel for the future.”

Today, all six vessels are in commercial operation, running on methanol. Two of the vessels are long-term time-chartered to provide the market with opportunities to gain wider operational experience of methanol as a marine fuel.

With four of the vessels in operation for the whole of 2023, Proman Stena Bulk has been able to track and assess the emissions performance of its fleet. This analysis shows that when the four vessels operate on methanol instead of VLSFO, the GHG emissions savings for a full year are around 5,500 tonnes.*

In addition, the ships have demonstrated operational efficiency performance, as measured by the IMO’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) methodology. For example, Stena Pro Patria has demonstrated operating performance 11% beyond the IMO’s 2025 target, setting a new efficiency benchmark for methanol-fuelled tankers.

The six-ship fleet is currently crewed and operated by Stena Sphere company Northern Marine Group, who have highlighted the technical similarities of the tankers to conventionally fueled vessels, meaning that they do not require a completely new set of operating procedures.

Image courtesy Proman Stena Bulk