First Methanol Bunkering Successfully Completed at Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Belgium’s Port of Antwerp-Bruges with its very first methanol bunkering has marked its journey on becoming a multi-fuel port.

Padmesh Prabhune

Preparing for the new fuel, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges reported that the first methanol bunkering was successfully completed at the port on Thursday, June 1. Accordingly 475 metric tonnes of methanol were bunkered from barge Tamariva to Proman Stena Marine at SEA-Invest’s terminal in Antwerp.

“With this first, we are further building on our global position as a bunkering port by actively promoting and developing a clear framework for the use of alternative fuels, such as LNG, ammonia, hydrogen, and methanol. Becoming a multifuel port is our goal,” Antwerp-Bruges said in the release. Currently six million metric tonnes of conventional fuels (such as low-sulfur oil or gas oil) are being bunkered at the port.

Pic caption Port of Antwerp saw its first methanol bunkering to one of Proman Stena’s new methanol-fueled tankers (Port of Antwerp-Bruges)

To the north in Scandinavia, Bunker One, a newly established company focused on supplying all grades of fuels is part of the Bunker holding group and has chartered a bunker vessel that will become the supplier’s first methanol-ready bunker tanker.

The company has started a new long-term charter of bunker tanker Nore, a 16-year old vessel registered in Malta. The 297-foot vessel will serve as a multi-fuel bunkering tanker with 3,500-ton storage, which can be split with different products among her tank pairs.Tthe vessel received all bunkering permits and certifications for operating in Scandinavia and Northern Europe in May and becomes the fourth bunker tanker in Bunker One Sweden’s fleet.

“Gothenburg, Skaw, and the entire Scandinavian region is one of our most important bunkering hubs with significant vessel traffic passing through the area, so to start building the infrastructure and have it in place is going to send a strong signal to our customers that if they bet on building ships powered by carbon emissions reducing products, we will be ready to supply them,” said Peter Zachariassen, CEO of Bunker One.

The company has been working hard to prepare the operation, securing the necessary certifications. “We’ve been working for some time, getting the landside infrastructure in place, chartering the tanker, and getting the licenses from the maritime authorities,” says Petter Jonason, Bunker One Sweden’s Chief Operating Officer.

Being ready to supply alternative products in Scandinavia marks a significant event for the rest of the maritime industry. Also while  some shipping and logistics companies are  still in the planning phase of investing in new ships with alternative engine fuel, the possibility of bunkering methanol is extremely valuable.

–Marex Media