CPN completes its first bio-methanol bunkering in Hong Kong

Chinese container liner COSCO Shipping Lines’ dual-fuel container ship was bunkered with 200 mt of bio-methanol during cargo unloading operations at the Cosco-HIT terminal in the Port of Hong Kong.

IMAGE: CPN's bunker vessel delivering bio-methanol to Cosco Shipping Gemini container ship. Chimbusco Pan Nation

Chimbusco Pan Nation (CPN) carried out the delivery in a ship-to-ship bunkering operation, with its bunker vessel Daqing 268 transferring the fuel to the methanol dual-fuel container ship COSCO Shipping Gemini over five hours.

“This milestone demonstrates CPN’s expanding alternative fuel capacity beyond marine biofuels to green methanol,” CPN's director Calvin Chung said.

The bio-methanol used in the operation was produced from agricultural and forestry waste at a plant in Ordos, Inner Mongolia.

The plant was previously fully owned by The Hong Kong and China Gas Company (Towngas), but has since been transferred to Venex, a 50–50 joint venture between Towngas and Foran Energy.

The bunkering was conducted through simultaneous operations (SIMOPs), where ships receive bunker fuel while simultaneously unloading cargo. This method typically allows ships to reduce docking time in port.

The operation highlights Hong Kong’s “growing capability” as a bunkering hub for low- and zero-emission bunker fuels, Hong Kong’s secretary for transport and logistics Mable Chan said.

She added that the government will work with port authorities to diversify the city’s energy portfolio and “and attract a broader network of green fuel suppliers to the city.”

Bio-methanol is a "vital option" for helping shipping achieve the IMO's ambition of net-zero emissions by 2050, CPN said. 

By Konica Bhatt

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