Biofuels News

On May 2, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) began a long-term biofuel test run on its VLCC Tenjun. The vessel received an initial supply of biofuel in Singapore and will continue to use biofuel for approximately three months to comprehensively verify the safe and stable procurement of biofuel for long-term use.NYK has conducted many short- and long-term safety trials of biofuel use on bulk carriers, car carriers, and LPG carriers, but this is the first time an NYK-operated VLCC has engaged in a long-term biofuel trial.

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has teamed up with NYK Line to launch Project LOTUS (long-term impact of continuous use of biofuels on vessel operations).This six-month project will trial the continuous use of a biofuels blend comprising of 24% Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) and very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) onboard a short-sea vehicle carrier that will call at multiple ports. The use of a vessel plying short-sea routes will allow regular access to fuels stored onboard for sampling and testing during frequent port calls.FAME…

Greek shipping company Carras (Hellas) has received the ABS Biofuel-1 notation for its Aquataurus ultramax bulk carrier, the first vessel in the world to qualify.The notation is assigned to vessels that use a biofuel blend of up to and including 30% biofuel in compliance with IMO and ABS requirements.Biofuels are liquid hydrocarbon fuels with similar composition and properties to fuel oil, but they are produced from renewable sources such as crops, agricultural and forestry waste…

Spot marine biofuel premiums have weakened further at the world's largest bunker hub Singapore, weighed by slow demand, market sources said this week.Premiums for the flagship B24 marine biofuel blend recently traded between $120 to $130 a metric ton over 0.5% low sulphur fuel oil quotes, on a delivered Singapore basis, according to sources from bunker suppliers, trading firms and shipowners.The premiums extended declines from early first quarter when the product traded down to about $140 a ton…

Yang Ming Marine Transport is adopting sustainable biofuel for its fleet, starting at Hong Kong and Singapore, and will now incorporate biofuel into its annual fuel consumption on an on-going basis.The adoption of biofuel began with Yang Ming’s 1,805 TEU class container ship, YM Inception, and 6,600 TEU class container ship, YM Masculinity. These vessels are currently deployed on the Japan to/from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand service and the Far East to/from Middle East service…

Vitol Bunkers has taken delivery of the Marine Future vessel, its first specialized biofuel bunker barge in Singapore.The addition of this specialized IMO type 2 notation bunker tanker to the V-Bunkers fleet will make it possible to supply biofuel blends including B24, B30 and up to B100, depending on customer specifications.Built in China, Marine Future is 102.6m in length and has the capacity to carry about 7,000 MT of biofuels.The current fleet of bunker tankers in Singapore are classified as ‘oil tankers’ and are therefore restricted to a maximum of 25% bio component in biofuel blends.

KR has awarded a third-party verification certificate for a “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Calculation Methodology” developed by HMM, South Korea’s largest shipping company.The methodology is based on the Renewable Energy Directive II, a regulatory framework adopted by the EU to promote the use of renewable energy to all member states.The greenhouse gas reduction methodology verified by KR involves calculating the amount of reduced greenhouse gases (GHG) based on the fuel's life cycle emissions (WtW…

European renewable ethanol producers have launched a legal challenge to the EU’s FuelEU Maritime Regulation on the grounds that it fails to properly recognise the proven benefits of sustainable crop-based biofuels and has therefore violated several key EU legislative procedures.Companies representing nearly all of the EU’s production of renewable ethanol are seeking to annul a section of the legislation that considers crop-based biofuels to have the same emission factors as the least favourable fossil fuel pathway.

Japanese shipping major NYK Group has marked the start of construction of a test facility that will serve to assess the safety of biofuels and accelerate their practical application as marine fuels.NYK plans to complete the installation of the test engine in June and analyze the biofuel in combustion tests over the next three years.The test engine will be a reused generator from the tugboat Sakigake, which is currently being converted to an ammonia-fueled tug, according to NYK.NYK companies Boltech.

Japanese shipping company NYK has unveiled plans to conduct full-scale trials of long-term use of biofules for its existing heavy oil-fired vessels starting from 2024.Considered to have net-zero CO2 emissions, biofuels are produced from biological sources (biomass), such as waste cooking oil. Usable in heavy oil-fired engines, biofuels are considered to be one of the critical solutions to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.In this trial, NYK will use biofuel continuously for three months on multiple vessel types.

Vale, working in partnership with Oldendorff Carriers, has just commenced its first biofuel voyage on a bulk vessel.The trial is taking place on an Oldendorff vessel performing a laden Vale voyage from Brazil to Asia, carrying a full cargo of iron ore.The Hinrich Oldendorff (209,113 deadweight built 2016) loaded the biofuel in Singapore on October 16 on the ballast voyage to Brazil. The vessel then loaded Vale’s iron ore on November 28 at Guaiba Island Terminal and will consume…

In 2019, Oldendorff Carriers signed a research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Center for Bits and Atoms to investigate disruptive improvements in ship design, propulsion, and alternative energy sources to help achieve the enhanced decarbonization targets to 2050. As part of their agreement, Oldendorff Carriers asked MIT to conduct a study on the long-term stability and degradation of a B20 advanced biofuel blend.Biofuels offer a drop-in fuel option, reducing GHG emissions from a life-cycle perspective.

The world's largest RoRo shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen reports its vessel Torrens is the first to bunker B30 HSFO-biofuel in South Korea. The bunkering took place during a call at Masan Port as part of the vessel's regular sailing schedule.A drop-in fuel that can be used in existing engines without any modification or tank cleaning, HSFO biofuel is a HSFO blended with UCOME (bio feedstock). The number of suppliers worldwide offering this particular fuel is currently very limited…

Stolt-Nielsen Limited has reported unaudited results for the third quarter ending August 31, 2023 including a net profit of $90.1 million with revenue of $694.4 million.This compares with a net profit of $8.3 million, with revenue of $721.9 million, in the second quarter of 2023. The second quarter included an incremental loss provision of $155.0 million (net profit impact of $105 million) related to the loss of the MSC Flaminia after a fire onboard in 2012.The net profit for the nine months of 2023 was $198.2 million with revenue of $2…

The 80th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80), held in July 2023, has approved the interim guidance on the use of biofuels.This is in relation to assigning CO2 Emission Conversion Factor (Cf) under the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulations and when reporting fuel consumption to the IMO Data Collection System (IMO DCS).Flag States are encouraged to apply the interim guidance on use of biofuels under regulations 26, 27 and 28 of MARPOL Annex…

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), NYK Group’s Asahi Shipping, and Kobe Steel have announced a successful trial run of biofuels on a voyage between Japan and Australia.The companies supplied biofuel via ship-to-ship transfer to the bulk carrier Sunrise Serenity at the port of Kobe in Japan. The vessel was supplied with biofuel by Toyota Tsusho Marine Fuels Corporation and then sailed to the port of Newcastle, Australia.The vessel is operated and managed by Asahi Shipping and…

Neste and ScanOcean have brought Neste’s marine fuel enabling lower GHG emissions to the Swedish market. The first shipment of nearly 600,000 liters (500 metric tons) is now available at the Södertälje terminal for vessels bunkering in the Stockholm area as well as those in transit to Lake Mälaren. ScanOcean already has several interested clients.Neste Marine™ 0.1 Co-processed produced by Neste is a low-sulphur marine gas oil where some crude oil is replaced with renewable raw materials.

Hapag-Lloyd has entered into a partnership with logistics provider DB Schenker to decarbonise supply chains through the use of biofuels.The two companies have signed an agreement for emission-reduced container transports with a waste- and residue-based biofuel. By end of 2023, DB Schenker plans to claim approximately 3,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions avoidance. This is based on at least 1,000 tonnes of pure biofuel.Hapag-Lloyd launched the Ship Green product to offer its customers emission-reduced ocean transports.

Danish shipping company Norden on Wednesday announced it has acquired a minority stake in Mash Makes, a Danish-Indian biofuel scale-up, which researches, develops and produces renewable fuels from biomass waste.Under the deal, Norden—which operates a fleet of tankers and bulk carriers—secures access to renewable fuels, specifically biooil, at favorable pricing, the company said, noting it will also benefit from future renewable biooils once developed.“We cannot rely solely on…

Russia's successor to McDonald's has teamed up with energy company Gazprom Neft to fuel marine vessels with biofuel produced using waste cooking oil an effort to lower their carbon footprints, the companies said on Thursday.Russia has said it was still committed to its climate targets despite the deepest political rift with the West in decades. Biofuels are widely considered to be less harmful in terms of emissions than conventional fuels.Gazprom Neft's bunkering business subsidiary…

Volvo Cars has announced that it is switching delivery of its production material to container ships using renewable biofuel.The company will use renewable fuel for inbound ocean container transport of production material destined for manufacturing plants based in Europe and the Americas, as well as all spare parts distribution made globally by ocean container transport.Volvo Cars says that it is the first global car maker to announce such a switch which will achieve an immediate reduction in fossil CO2 emissions from intercontinental ocean freight by 55,000 tonnes a year.

Ship operator United European Car Carriers (UECC) has bunkered sustainable biofuel for the first time in collaboration with GoodFuels and vessel owner NYK.GoodFuels delivered the B30 blend, 470 tonnes of VLSFO and sustainable biofuel, to time-chartered Emerald Leader in the port of Vlissingen in May. NYK, joint owner of UECC, is working closely with UECC to monitor the biofuel's performance.The use of sustainable biofuel on the Emerald Leader, which operates on UECC's North South Trade connecting the Eastern Mediterranean with Northern Europe…

In Cape Cod Bay, 10-year-old Pilgrim and her calf skim the water's glassy surface alongside the Shearwater research vessel to feed on tiny crustaceans.The two are among the last surviving 340 or so North Atlantic right whales left migrating along the U.S. East Coast – down from 480 right whales in 2010.The biggest threats they face include being struck by passing ships or getting entangled in ropes used for lobster fishing off the U.S. East Coast - scientists have recorded 98 such injuries or deaths of whales since 2017.Now, the whales face another threat as the U.S.