Two shipping firms launch Australian biofuel insetting pilot

Australian grain exporter CBH Group has partnered with tanker operator Norden and German dry bulk shipping firm Oldendorff to launch a biofuel-based insetting programme in Australia.

IMAGE: Oldendorff-operated dry bulk carrier. Oldendorff

Under the system, CBH Group will book shipping services with Norden and Oldendorff to transport grain from Western Australia to European ports and claim emissions reductions through the use of waste-based biofuels across its voyages.

Norden and Oldendorff will bunker some of their vessels with biofuel blends and allocate credits equivalent to the resulting GHG savings from these voyages to CBH Group using a book-and-claim model. This will allow CBH Group to report CO2 reductions across its supply chain emissions.

A book-and-claim supply chain model allows cargo owners to purchase emission reduction credits from shipowners that have already invested in low- or zero-emission fuels.

Cargo owners can claim reductions across their Scope 3 supply chain emissions even when their goods are physically transported on vessels powered by fossil fuels, as long as they pay a premium for the service.

“The biofuel-powered voyages achieved significant emission reductions compared to traditional fossil fuels, at no additional cost to WA growers, providing a practical response to new EU regulations impacting all ships over 5,000 gross tonnages calling at European ports,” Norden said.

It added that eight voyages transporting Western Australian grain to Europe have so far used the book-and-claim insetting model.

By Konica Bhatt

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