SINGAPORE conducted its first methanol bunkering operation on Thursday (Jul 27), with the success possibly paving the way for methanol to be used as a marine fuel.

Bunkering, or refuelling a marine vessel, can be done from vessel to vessel or in a port. In Thursday’s operation, Singapore bunker craft operator Hong Lam Marine’s vessel MT Agility transferred around 300 tonnes of green bio-methanol to a dual-fuelled container vessel owned by Danish logistics and shipping company AP Moller-Maersk.

The bunkering operation is a significant milestone for Singapore in its move towards a multi-fuel approach in the future, said the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), which supported the operation. “More methanol bunkering operations are being planned in the coming year as methanol-enabled vessels are delivered globally,” it added.

Singapore is the world’s top bunkering port. It registered 47.9 million tonnes of bunker sales in 2022, accounting for around one-fifth of the global total. But heavy fuel oil makes up the vast majority of marine fuel sales here – 92.3 per cent as at June 2023, or 3.6 million tonnes of the 3.9 million tonne total.

Using alternative lower-carbon fuels such as methanol is a strategy for decarbonising the shipping industry, which accounts for 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Following Thursday’s operation, the Standards Development Organisation at the Singapore Chemical Industry Council and MPA will develop a technical reference for the operational and safety requirements of methanol bunkering. The MPA will also lay out further groundwork needed to build commercial methanol operations, including licensing and infrastructure requirements.

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Methanol is an important alternative as the shipping industry moves towards full decarbonisation, said Piotr Konopka, group director for energy programmes at shipping and logistics operator DP World. He pointed out that methanol is not as toxic as ammonia, another alternative marine fuel, and it is biodegradable in water.

Nor does switching to methanol need a complete change of propulsion system, as existing vessels can be retrofitted to use methanol through a dual-fuel system.

However, for environmental impact, the type of methanol matters. “Grey methanol”, produced using natural gas, should not be used as it has a higher emissions factor than existing fossil fuels, noted Konopka.

The green bio-methanol transferred on Thursday was produced using biogenic carbon, which is carbon dioxide produced in the natural decomposition or combustion of biomass. However, the availability of biogenic carbon could be a constraint in scaling up green methanol production, said Konopka.

The global, large-scale adoption of methanol will likely only happen beyond 2030, he added, as there are few suppliers of the fuel and “lots of support” is needed to scale and develop the infrastructure for the fuel’s distribution.

The Maersk McKinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping estimates that by 2050, green methanol could comprise around 20 per cent to 30 per cent of all maritime fuels.

Other alternative marine fuels include hydrogen, ammonia and liquefied natural gas (LNG). In May 2021, the MPA carried out a similar exercise to pave the way for LNG as an alternative marine fuel.