Close to 1,340 metric tonnes (MT) of blended methanol was bunkered ship-to-ship on 24 May 2024 at the port of Singapore and there will be another operation for simultaneous methanol bunkering and cargo operations for a container vessel the following week, according to MPA’s release.

These operations will also test the use of mass flow meters (MFM) and digital bunkering.

The blended methanol, comprising 20% ISCC-certified  1 bio-methanol combined with conventional methanol, was supplied by Global Energy Trading Pte Ltd, a MPA-licensed bunker supplier, using MT KARA, a dedicated IMO type II chemical bunker tanker operated by Stellar Shipmanagement Services. The fuel was received by the newly christened 49,900 DWT IMO II MeMAX tanker, Stena Prosperous, commercially managed by Proman, a leading methanol producer. This operation, which was completed in 7 hours, follows from the world’s first ship-to-containership methanol bunkering conducted earlier in Singapore in July 2023 for the Laura Maersk during which 300 MT of bio-methanol was bunkered.

The blended methanol was supplied by Proman’s marketing arm, Valenz, and lifted at Vopak Penjuru Terminal, Singapore. The blended methanol is reported by Proman to deliver CO2e saving of 31% on a tank-to-wake2 basis compared to the same voyage operated on Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO).

The use of blended methanol provides a pathway fuel for ships to meet GHG emissions limits required by Fuel EU Maritime for ships trading in the European Union and European Economic Area. The lifecycle emissions accounting framework is currently being discussed at the International Maritime Organization.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) expects the relevant metrics for maritime fuels, including well-to-wake, tank-to-wake, to be measurable, reportable and verifiable, and that these should be made available and updated as more information from these operations are reviewed.

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was established on 2 February 1996 with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre, and to advance and safeguard Singapore’s strategic maritime interests. In 2023, Singapore’s annual vessel arrival tonnage  crossed 3 billion Gross Tonnage and remains the world’s busiest transshipment hub, with a total container throughput of 39.0 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Proman is an integrated industrial group and global leader in natural gas derived products and services. Headquartered in Switzerland, with assets in the United States, Trinidad and Oman, and ongoing expansion into Mexico, Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Proman is the world’s second largest methanol producer and has extensive experience in petrochemical plant operations, petrochemical and power plant construction, product marketing and logistics, and project management.

Global Energy Group is a marine service provider. The company currently owns and operates 25 tankers to support its marine fuel supply business in Singapore and Fujairah, and a regional oil transportation/logistics business.