The Week in Alternative Fuels

Here are some of the key developments in alternative bunker fuels from the past week.

PHOTO: LNG supplied to a truck by a floating storage and regasification unit vessel. LNG Croatia

Several shipping companies have invested heavily in new LNG-powered vessels to curb emission in the near term, as the fuel is more readily available across the globe than most other alternative fuels.

Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) placed orders of four LNG-powered Capesize bulkers and two VLCCs this week. It aims to operate a total of 90 LNG-powered vessels by 2030 and has set a net zero emission target for 2050.

Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport has also invited bids for the construction five 15,000 TEU dual-fuelled LNG container ships.

The global LNG fleet has expanded by nearly 65% over the past two years, with 313 vessels currently in operation. To cater higher expected LNG bunkering demand, UK-headquartered Avenir LNG has announced partnership with Croatian gas supplier Prvo Plinarsko Društvo (PPD) to supply LNG in northern Italian ports and eastern European countries.

LNG has nearly 40% higher energy density compared to ammonia, but it can only curb carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter compared to conventional fuels. Ammonia produced with renewable energy has zero-carbon emission potential.

Also hitting the headlines this week, Japanese engineering firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has teamed up with power generation firm JERA and port operator Jurong Port (JP) to develop an ammonia combustion power plant and ammonia bunkering on Jurong Island in Singapore.

Singapore has been getting involved with various for green fuel infrastructure projects as it seeks to cement its position as the world's top bunkering hub also over the coming decades of transition to low- and zero-emission fuels.

Also this week, Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) said it seeks to develop a first-of-its-kind ammonia barge which can be used as a floating storage and regasification unit.

By Nithin Chandran

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Here are the top five stories in alternative fuels this week:

MOL puts in order for six more LNG-powered vessels

Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has placed orders for four LNG-powered Capesize bulkers and two VLCCs.

The four 210,000 dwt Capesize bulkers will be build by Chinese CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, and other two 309,000 dwt VLCC bulkers by Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering. They are expected to be delivered between 2025 and 2026.

MOL plans to operate a total of 90 LNG-powered vessels by 2030.

Data from shipping classification society DNV suggests that around 483 dual-fuelled LNG vessels are on order for delivery from 2025. The global LNG fleet has expanded by nearly 65% over the past two years, with 313 vessels currently in operation

Another Japanese shipping company, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), intends to operate 45 LNG-fuelled vessels in the near term, and to convert them to be powered by low-emission fuels such as biogas and synthetic methane in the future.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a greenhouse gas compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

MOL plans to operate another 110 zero-emission vessels by 2035 and has set a net-zero emission targets for 2050.

Yang Ming opens bids for five 15,000 TEU LNG-powered box ships

Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport is inviting bids for the construction of five LNG-powered containerships as part of its fleet renewal program.

• Yang Ming invites bids for five Neopanamax vessels with LNG dual-fuel engines
• Delivery of first vessel is expected by the first half of 2025
• Yang Ming expects to reduce GHG emissions by at least 20% with its new LNG fleet

Yang Ming has officially launched an international tender valid until 6 September for construction of 15,000 TEU capacity container ships.

The Neopanamax vessels will be equipped with LNG dual-fuel engines that can also run on conventional VLSFO and MGO grades, according to the tender documents. They will be about 366 meters long and 51.2 meters wide.

The delivery of the first vessel is expected in the first half of 2025, and the fifth and final ship in the first half of 2026. This move will make Yang Ming the first shipping company in Taiwan to own LNG-powered containerships.

Yang Ming is part of The Alliance, a shipping consortium that includes Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, and HMM. The company said that it chose LNG as fuel in order to comply with the IMO’s tightening emissions regulations, and the Fit for 55 package which is part of the European Commission’s green deal. It expects to reduce GHG emissions by at least 20% compared to using conventional fuel.

A total of 313 LNG-fuelled vessels are in operation globally this year, according to classification society DNV. An additional 77 LNG-fuelled vessels are on order for delivery this year, and another 155 vessels are LNG-ready.

The number of LNG-fuelled vessels on order for delivery by 2028 is much higher at 503.

Avenir to expand LNG bunkering to Italy and eastern Europe

UK-headquartered Avenir LNG has partnered with Croatian gas supplier Prvo Plinarsko Društvo (PPD) to supply LNG in northern Italian ports and eastern European countries.

Avenir will start LNG supply from October this year and stems would initially be delivered by trucks to customers including shipping.

LNG will be sourced from the Krk LNG terminal located in Croatia by the northern Adriatic Sea, and later supplied by trucks and small barges. The Krk LNG terminal launched commercial operations last year and has 2.6 billion cbm/year capacity.

Additionally, both companies consider developing an LNG breakbulk terminal in the Adriatic Sea to handle large quantities of LNG import and exports.

PPD has a natural gas distribution network spanning Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Earlier this month, Avenir announced plans to develop an LNG and bioLNG terminal in the port of Oxelösund in Sweden by 2025.

Mitsubishi and JERA to explore ammonia bunkering in Singapore

Mitsubishi and JERA intend to supply green electricity and build an ammonia bunkering terminal in Singapore.

Japanese engineering firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and power generation firm JERA have signed an agreement with port operator Jurong Port (JP) to develop an ammonia combustion power plant and ammonia bunkering on Jurong Island in Singapore.

They will conduct a feasibility study on their plans for an ammonia-powered 60 MW gas turbine electricity plant on Jurong, and whether they can roll out ammonia bunkering.

They also plan to explore ammonia at commercial scale for power usage and bunkering.

This follows an initial agreement between Jurong JP and Mitsubishi for a pre-feasibility study on direct ammonia combustion for power generation which was completed in March this year.

“This collaboration is certainly consistent with the spirit of reinforcing Singapore’s premier bunkering hub status – for current, transition and future fuels,” Jurong Port’s chief executive Ooi Boon Hoe said.

Earlier this year, the Singapore-based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) said it would conduct a feasibility study and devise ammonia bunkering safety standards for Singapore. GCMD expects demand for ammonia bunkering in Singapore to surge by 2035.

JP operates two tank storage terminals in Singapore: Jurong Port Tank Terminals (JPTT) and Jurong Port Universal Terminal (JPUT). These terminals can store and handle crude products and petrochemicals. It estimates that nearly 30% of Singapore's bunkering volumes are supplied from JPUT.

NYK Line seeks to develop world’s first ammonia barge with regasification

Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) intends to develop an ammonia barge which can be used as a floating storage and regasification facility.

NYK Line has signed a joint research and development agreement with a group of partners. They are looking to commercialise floating ammonia storage and regasification barges.

In their plans, liquid ammonia from a production source will be supplied to a barge for storage. It will later be heated and regasified before transfer to onshore pipelines.

NYK Line says a barge of this kind can save time and costs compared to onshore storage tanks and regasification plants.

Other than NYK Line, the project partners include Japanese shipbuilder Nihon Shipyard, shipping classification society Class NK and engineering firm IHI Corporation.