Yesterday, OCI Global successfully bunkered the world’s first green methanol fuelled container ship with its OCI HyFuels ISCC certified green methanol, establishing green methanol as the low-carbon fuel catalyzing the decarbonization of the shipping industry.
The bunkering operation marks the start of the ship’s maiden voyage, which will see it sail from Ulsan to Copenhagen, bunkering in Singapore, Egypt, and Rotterdam en route.
Maersk took delivery of the 2,100 TEU boxship from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard last week.
The official naming and delivery of the vessel are scheduled for September in Copenhagen, with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, picked as the godmother of the vessel. The name of the vessel is expected to be Maersk Solstice.
Kick-starting the decarbonization of shipping
The operation comes just over a week after IMO announced its revised strategy for the industry to reach net zero ‘by or around 2050’ and includes ‘indicative checkpoints’ towards that goal.
The journey will be a catalyst for future green methanol bunkering and will see the ship refuelled with OCI Hyfuels’ green methanol at key global ports, positioning OCI as the first commercial bunker operator of green methanol at global scale.
A New Era
“I’m delighted that the world’s first green methanol-fueled container ship, fueled by OCI Hyfuels, has departed safely from Ulsan. This journey marks the beginning of a new, more sustainable era in shipping and proves the reliability, safety, and efficiency of green methanol as the first low carbon shipping fuel,” OCI CEO Ahmed El-Hoshy said.
“We congratulate Maersk on this important milestone and are proud to be the first terminal to successfully supply green methanol bunkering to this unique vessel,” said OTK’s Chief Commercial Officer Joseph Kim.
“Over the past months, business reviews and technical efforts have been conducted on safe and successful methanol bunker supply models. We expect these results to be the cornerstone of the methanol bunkering business moving forward.”
The bunkering operation follows OCI’s announcement from last month that it was partnering with Maersk to fuel the feeder, ensuring that the ship’s maiden voyage will be net-zero.
The bio-methanol that will be used for the maiden voyage of Maersk’s feeder vessel will be produced from biogas obtained from landfills in the United States. This bio-methanol will fulfill the company’s sustainability criteria, achieving a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions throughout its lifecycle.
“The green methanol market is still in its infancy and frankly we had not expected to be able to secure a maiden voyage on green methanol for this vessel. So, we are very proud to have achieved this significant milestone,” said Morten Bo Christiansen, Head of Energy Transition, A.P. Moller – Maersk.
This journey is an important step in our efforts to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, as it will allow us to gain the necessary operational experience with the new engines and fuel ahead of the arrival of our larger methanol-enabled vessels in the coming years,” added Christiansen.
The Maersk feeder will be followed by 25 large ocean-going vessels of 9,000-17,200 TEU capacity which are scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2027.
Source : OCI Global
