With the technological and regulatory challenges associated with burning methanol as a bunker fuel largely resolved, it is time for the industry to step up and prepare to go green with methanol.

This was the opinion widely expressed at Rise of methanol as a future-proof marine fuel seminar held in Mumbai and online Friday, April 29, said Sea Commerce America Inc, one of the organizers of the seminar.

It was in August 2021 that methanol secured its position as the future marine fuel when AP Moller – Maersk announced an order for 12 large ocean-going container ships to operate on carbon-neutral methanol.

This historic order has enhanced the visibility of this promising fuel. However, every shipowner faces unique challenges, and it is not enough to follow Maersk’s lead and hope to succeed.

During the seminar, the panel of experts spoke in detail about installation options, fuel cost and availability, bunkering infrastructure and the potential for e-fuel production.

Today, methanol made from natural gas offers a lifecycle GHG reduction of 5-15% over diesel as well as immediate reductions in SOx, NOx and particulates. Methanol offers 2% lower fuel consumption per kWh than diesel fuel, and engine corrosion and fuel slippage are not an issue due to the high burn rate achieved by engine designers.

In the event of a spill, methanol is miscible in water, with virtually no risk of harm to the environment and virtually no potential danger to wildlife.

IMO regulations on handling methanol are well developed in the IGF Code and the Interim Methyl/Ethyl Guidelines. There could still be rules for bunkering methanol and standards for fuel quality.

Class supervision is well established. ABS, a pioneer in this field, will classify Maersk vessels, and its safety assessment will include design considerations such as the need for cofferdams between fuel tanks and fire hazard areas, double barriers and systems sealing, ventilation and gas detection, explosion mitigation, and redundancy.

New Maersk builds will require larger bore engines than current LGIM dual-fuel methanol installations, and MAN expects a further increase in engine size to be available soon. This will open the market to other large ocean-going vessels, and MAN is already seeing a lot of interest in the retrofits.

Berit Hinnemann from Maersk spoke about the partnership Maersk has with green methanol producers to supply their methanol fueled fleet. Maersk will need 10,000 tonnes in 2023 and 500,000 tonnes by mid-2025.

Berit also mentioned that Maersk sees “methanol in combination with biodiesel for the pilot ship as the only certain and scalable path to meaningful impact this decade.”

These 16,000 TEU DF Maersk vessels are to be ABS classed and will provide “20% improved fuel efficiency per container carried”.

Mr. Vikrant Rai, took the stage and presented the regulatory views on the subject. He also highlighted the importance of port energy upgrades and ship energy upgrades.

The event was designed to meet the needs of shipowners and operators, and moderated by Richard Clayton, Chief Correspondent at Lloyds List. Speakers, including host and organizer Captain Saleem Alavi, delved into the technical, commercial and regulatory details.

Top industry experts spoke at the event, including Berit Hinnemann, Business Development Manager Decarbonization at Maersk; Ayca Yalcin, Director of Market Development EMEA at Methanex; Chris Chatterton, COO of the Methanol Institute; Fredrik Stubner, President and CEO, Green Marine Engineering; Kjeld Aabo, director of new technologies at MAN Energy Solutions; Rene Laursen, Head of Global Gas Solutions at ABS; Vijay Arora, Managing Director of the Indian Shipping Registry; Vikrant Rai, Engineer and Ship Surveyor and Deputy CEO (Tech), Mumbai.

Most of the nearly 400 attendees at the event said they had more confidence in the viability of methanol as a bunker fuel after hearing from the expert presenters.

The organizers of the event were Sea Commerce America Inc. and the Institute of Marine Engineers of India’s Mumbai Branch and sponsored by Methanex, Canada and Methanol Institute, Singapore.

Photo credit: Sea Commerce America Inc.
Posted: May 20, 2022