Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, its wholly-owned company MOL Chemical Tankers leading commodity trading company Trafigura  and its vessel fuel supply joint-venture company TFG Marine , have signed a Memorandum of Understanding  this month. The MOU is for a joint study on the full-scale supply of biodiesel fuel  for MOLCT-operated vessels in bunkering ports around the world. Based on the MOU, the companies will move forward with the study, with the intention to establish a global supply of BDF for MOLCT’s operated fleet.

As a part of the joint study, the companies have conducted a sea trial using TFG Marine-supplied BDF on the MOLCT-operated chemical tanker “Niseko Galaxy”. About 200 metric tonnes of BDF were bunkered in the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in early March, with the sea trial completing as the vessel reached its journey off the U.S. Gulf Coast.

TFG Marine’s BDF supplied for the sea trial required no modifications to the vessel’s diesel engine. The use of BDF is expected to achieve a 25~30% reduction in CO₂ emissions on a mix of 30% BDF and 70% conventional heavy fuel oil.

In June 2021, the MOL Group announced a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 2050 (see the “MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1” Fig.1).

The Group set the initiative to “adopt clean alternative fuels” (Fig.2) to help achieve this target, positioning BDF as an effective alternative to fossil fuels. MOL and MOLCT are continually promoting the adoption of BDF in a proactive manner, contributing to GHG emissions reduction in the process of ocean transport.