In the past nine months, VT Group and FinCo Group have worked together to test 100% Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) biodiesel on VT Group’s ship MTS Vlissingen.
Claudia Beumer of the VT Group expressed satisfaction with the results. According to Beumer, no serious technical problems existed in this pilot arrangement at the “MTS Vlissingen.” VT plans to use FAME as biodiesel and collaborate with FinCo to green the its fleet.
According to the companies, using 100% FAME saved a significant amount of CO2, demonstrating the potential for sustainable transportation solutions. Following the conversion of the MTS Vlissingen, VT Group plans to convert the MTS Vorstenbosch to FAME. Following that, the rest of the fleet’s ships will be able to switch to biodiesel as well.
These ships will start with a lower blend, allowing for rapid CO2 reductions with no adjustments required. In the coming years, each ship will be ready to shift to 100% FAME. Alex van der Made, Manager Supply of FinCo Group, expressed hope that they had established a unique market position to supply sustainable fuels to inland ships.
To remind, just a few days ago Astomos and INPEX reached an agreement to supply B24 biofuel bunker to a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Meanwhile, Toyota Tsusho announced in early May that, together with Toyotsu Energy they launched Japan’s first continuous supply of biodiesel blended fuel on a commercial basis to ships operated by Toyofuji Shipping at the Port of Nagoya in April.
