TotalEnergies and COSCO in box ship biofuel bunkering first
Written by Nick Blenkey
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels completes COSCO Shipping Lines’ first bunkering of marine biofuel.
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels has completed its first bunkering of a containership in Singapore with sustainable marine biofuel. The operation, which involved the 4,250 TEU COSCO Houston, was also COSCO Shipping Lines’ first bunkering of a container vessel with biofuel.
The vessel was bunkered July 11 with TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel in Singapore waters, via ship-to-ship transfer.
VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) blended with 20% second-generation, waste-based and ISCC-certified UCOME (Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester), was bunkered via an operation that was made possible with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the involvement of local partners including tank storage company Vopak Terminals Singapore at Penjuru.
From a well-to-wake assessment, the biofuel will reduce approximately 17% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions compared with conventional fuel oil. The biofuel has been consumed during the vessel’s voyage to Jakarta, Indonesia.
“We are honored to partner COSCO Shipping Lines, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, in their decarbonization journey with the provision of their first biofuel bunker stem,” said Laura Ong, general manager of trading and operations for Asia Pacific, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels, based in Singapore. “This successful collaboration lays a foundation for both companies to explore new joint initiatives that promote the introduction of clean, low-carbon alternative fuels.”
“This milestone bio-bunkering operation also further validates the important role of biofuels in decarbonizing conventional marine fuels, and the potential greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction gains it can bring to existing vessels,” Ong added. “In line with TotalEnergies’ climate ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 together with society, we will continue to scale up our biofuel capabilities and to support the growing interest for sustainable marine biofuels in this region.”
The operation followed successful biofuel bunkering trials that TotalEnergies Marine Fuels performed in Singapore earlier this year with a vehicle carrier operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL) and a bulk carrier chartered by NYK Line.
Categories: Environment, News
