Tag: alternative fuels

Shipowners, operators and charterers face technical, commercial and legal challenges in the run-up to the IMO’s January 2020 sulphur cap. In the following article, Ian Short, a Campbell Johnston Clark partner, explains some essential contractual precautions.

As part of its Energy Transition Outlook 2019, DNV GL provided an independent outlook on the maritime energy future examining how the energy transition will affect the industry. The report forecasts that new fuels, alongside energy efficiency, will play a key role on meeting the IMO greenhouse gas ambitions.

Maersk Oil Trading and Dutch storage company Koole Terminals announced the signing of an agreement to produce IMO 2020-compliant bunker fuel. The production will take place at the Petrochemical Industrial Distillation (PID) unit, located at Koole’s Botlek site in the Port of Rotterdam.

As part of its preparations for the upcoming 2020 sulphur cap, Belgian shipping company Euronav announced it has purchased the equivalent of 420,000 metric ton of compliant fuel and Marine Gasoil and has hired a dedicated fuel oils specialist team to procure, thoroughly test and store new compliant fuels.

From 1 January 2020, the limit for sulphur in fuel oil on board ships operating outside designated Emission Control Areas (ECAs) will fall to 0.50% mass by mass (m/m). For this reason, the Shipowners' Club published a checklist, which may be used as a guide to compliment any operational changes that operators are planning, so as to ensure compliance with the upcoming MARPOL convention changes.

US-based marine fuels supplier GCC Bunkers announced a processing agreement with Texas International Terminals to produce ISO 8217 and IMO 2020 compliant 0.5% sulphur bunker fuel oil and 0.1% ECA specification gasoil in the Houston, Texas area, starting in early 2020.

Italian refiner Saras announced that from 1st September 2019 it will start direct bunkering supply at specific dedicated areas of the ports of Sarroch and Cagliari. The range of marine fuels will include MDO, as well as the new ecological fuel oil with a very low sulphur content, as per IMO 2020.

Ørsted, along with ITM Power and Element Energy, has won funding from the UK Government for a green hydrogen project. The Gigastack feasibility study, led by ITM Power, is a six-month project to investigate the possible delivery of bulk, low-cost and zero-carbon hydrogen. 

The Methanol Institute announced that it has welcomed the launch of two new dual-fueled tankers capable of operation using clean-burning Methanol. Namely, the 49,000dwt product tankers Mari Couva and Mari Kokako were named on August 16.

Heavy lift shipping and offshore transportation and installation contractor Jumbo, and marine biofuel company GoodFuels, announced a joint initiative to test marine Bio-Fuel Oil on an offshore decommissioning project. The partnership paves the way for a fossil fuel to renewable energy transition in the offshore support sector.