Container shipper X-Press Feeders has conducted its first bio-methanol refuelling operation at the port of Singapore on Monday, a company executive said, after receiving in mid-May its first out of 14 dual-fuelled vessels ordered.

The company aims to use more methanol to fuel its fleet to meet its targets of a 20% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2035 and to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Using bio-methanol produced from decomposing organic matter such as waste and residues helps reduce carbon emissions by 65% versus conventional marine fuel, said Francis Goh, chief operating officer at X-Press Feeders.

The company's first dual-fuelled vessel has been delivered out of a Chinese shipyard this month and is sailing from Shanghai to Rotterdam via Singapore.

It docked and refuelled with about 300 metric tons of bio-methanol at Singapore on Monday, supplied from Global Energy Trading's chemical bunker tanker.

The ship refuelled while loading and unloading containers, making it the first simultaneous methanol bunkering and cargo operation to take place in Singapore, according to the city-state's port authority.

"This marks an increase in productivity. The less time we spend in port, the faster our ships turn around," said Goh.

The company will launch its methanol-fuelled feeder ships on a Baltic shipping route in July followed by a Finland route in October.

"We thought the European market would be the most receptive to having such vessels... with the regulatory environment, it is very conducive," said Goh.

The first green methanol bunker operation at Singapore was conducted by Maersk last July, while Stena Bulk refuelled green methanol at Singapore last week.

X-Press Feeders will receive eight dual-fuel container ships between 2024 and 2025 and another six between 2025 and 2026. The company has agreements with six European ports to develop infrastructure for supply and bunkering of alternative fuels.

Singapore, the world's largest bunker hub, has received 50 proposals for the supply of methanol as a bunker fuel, with potential to supply over 1 million tons of low-carbon methanol annually by 2030.

by reuters