A new world first has been recorded in Singapore as Maersk and Hong Lam Marine have successfully carried out the world’s first ship-to-containership methanol bunkering, with the support of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. This is also Singapore’s first methanol bunkering.
The Maersk vessel was refuelled with approximately 300 tonnes of bio-methanol from the tanker Agility, ready for the box-ship’s onward journey to Copenhagen, Denmark, where it will be officially named.
The bio-fuel had earlier been stored at the Vopak Terminals.
In preparation for the methanol bunkering operation in Singapore, the port authority worked with over 28 agencies, partners and institutes to organise table-top exercises and workshops to identify safety measures and clarify roles and responsibilities for a coordinated cross-agency response to a methanol incident at sea.
A separate Hazard Identification (HAZID) and Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) workshop was conducted to identify potential risks and develop corresponding prevention, control, and mitigation methods. These were further evaluated during a second table top exercise followed by a ground deployment exercise at sea in July 2023 with various stakeholders and government agencies.
A customised methanol firefighting programme was also conducted by the Co-operative of SCDF Employees for port authority staff and Hong Lam Marine crew members as part of the preparations for the bunkering operation.
Mr Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive, MPA, said, “the success of the methanol bunkering operation is a result of nearly a year’s preparations with various government agencies, research institutes, international collaborators, and industry to develop rigorous safety procedures through in-depth operational and risk assessments, modelling, and validation. This operation will help inform the development of the various standards, including the Technical Reference for methanol bunkering operations in Singapore, and guide our approach for future pilots and trials of new marine fuels. We thank A.P. Moller-Maersk, Hong Lam Marine, American Bureau of Shipping, Mitsui & Co., OCI Global, Stellar Shipmanagement and Vopak for their joint efforts with Singapore-based agencies in operationalising methanol bunkering capability and we welcome partners to work with us to accelerate maritime decarbonisation.”
Mr Morten Bo Christensen, Head of Energy Transition at A.P. Moller – Maersk, said “A.P. Moller – Maersk is excited to collaborate with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Mitsui & Co., American Bureau of Shipping and Hong Lam Marine on the maiden voyage of the world’s first container vessel sailing on green methanol. 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 to operate the new engines and the fuel provided by OCI Global ahead of the arrival of our larger methanol-enabled vessels in the coming years.”
