Furetank successfully trials Equinor’s biofuel blend

Swedish shipping line Furetank has completed a trial run with a biofuel blend supplied by Norwegian energy company Equinor.

PHOTO: Furetank’s dual-fuel tanker Fure Valö. Furetank

The trial was carried out on the dual-fuel tanker Fure Valö, which was bunkered with a B30 blend of 30% biofuel and 70% conventional marine gasoil (MGO) produced at the Mongstad refinery in Norway. The biofuel component was produced from used cooking oil.

The vessel sailed from from Mongstad to Reykjavik, Iceland, and did not encounter any performance issues, Furetank said.

The company claims that the biofuel component of the blend can reduce a vessel's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 87.5% compared to conventional fossil fuels. This means that the B30 fuel used in this trial run can reduce the Fure Valö's GHG emissions by 34%.

Furetank chief executive Lars Höglund considers “test pilots for this new lower-emission fuel” to be “an important and honorable mission.”

Exploration of biofuels has been gaining momentum among shipowners to reduce near-term carbon emissions as they can be used as drop-in fuels after being blended with conventional fuels.

Earlier this month, Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) completed a trial run of a biofuel blend supplied by marine fuel supplier ExxonMobil Marine. Last month, Germany-based cruise line Hapag-Lloyd Cruises successfully concluded a trial run of a biofuel blend supplied by Dutch supplier GoodFuels.

By Tuhin Roy

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