The first marine trial using biofuel aboard an ocean-going
bulk vessel was completed earlier this month in Singapore. The trial was the
latest in a series of successful programs in which major shipping companies
used either a biofuel blend or total biofuel derived from elements such as used
cooking oil, sustainable waste, and residue streams as feedstock.
This trial involved a partnership between Australian energy
giant BHP and German shipping company Oldendorff Carriers working with
GoodFuels that supplied the biofuel and the support of the Maritime and Port
Authority of Singapore.
The vessel selected for the biofuel trial was one of the
Oldendorff’s eco-Kamsarmaxes, the Kira Oldendorff. The 2020-built 81,290 dwt
dry bulk carrier was bunkered with a drop-in of advanced biofuel to be blended
with conventional fossil fuels. Minor modifications were carried out to burn
the biofuel blend efficiently, and monitoring instruments were installed to
capture the trial data as accurately as possible.
According to the companies involved in the trial, the
objectives of the biofuel bunkering included understanding the behavior of the
fuel and the impact on emissions, and assessing engine and vessel operational
performance, as well as exploring the technical and commercial merits and
challenges of biofuels as a marine fuel. The advanced biofuel used the
companies said was capable of reducing CO2 emissions by 80 to 90 percent
well-to-exhaust compared with HFO/VLSFO.
The trial was designed to enable the companies to develop an
informed strategy on the structural supply and use of biofuels. BHP said that
it was assessing biofuels as a potential low-carbon fuel of the future, and as
a tool to meet its goal for reducing greenhouse gas emission. Oldendorff has
been exploring a range of strategies as part of its programs to reduce
emissions. Earlier this year, the line announced that they would participate in
a joint development project to design and test wind-assisted propulsion
technology for its dry bulk carriers.
Expansion of biofuel into Singapore represents a key step
for the emerging alternative. Singapore is the world’s largest bunker market
with the MPA reporting sales of more than 4.5 million metric tons per month at
the beginning of 2021 used to fuel the more than 3,500 vessels calling in
Singapore to bunker. Last year over 49 million metric tons of fuel were sold
nearing the port’s record of over 50.6 million metric tons in 2017. If the pace
of bunker sales in the first two months of 2021 continues for the year,
Singapore could exceed its previous record by nearly 10 percent.