UPDATE: US bill could boost biofuel demand from ocean-going vessels

Two US senators put forward the Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act before the US Senate.

PHOTO: Aerial view of Port of Cleveland. Port of Cleveland

The bipartisan bill introduced by senators Pete Ricketts and Sherrod Brown aims to make biofuel blends supplied to ocean-going vessels meet Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements.

It proposes to include biofuels supplied to ocean-going vessels in the “additional renewable fuel” section of the Clean Air Act. This will allow companies to preserve US biofuel certificates – known as renewable identification number (RIN) credits – for biofuel blends supplied to ocean-going vessels, which is currently not possible.

The bill seeks to drive demand for marine biofuel blends in the US, Ricketts stressed.

According to Brown, the bill will be a boon for Ohio's soybean-based biofuel production. “From ships crossing the Atlantic to vessels delivering goods to ports along Lake Erie, Ohio soybean farmers can produce the renewable fuel of the future that drives this industry,” he said.

The bill was tabled in the House of Representatives last December by US representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and John Garamendi. It now needs to be approved by both chambers of Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate, before it can be sent to the President for a final approval.

This bill will significantly strengthen the global shipping decarbonisation movement if it passes, Anthony Odak, chief operating officer of US-based bunker supplier John W. Stone Oil Distributor told ENGINE in December, when the bill was tabled in the House of Representatives.

“Though there is much water that needs to pass under the bridge before this bill would become law, particularly in an election year, it is a testament to all those organizations and individuals that have lobbied to make this a reality,” Odak said.

“This legislation will open new market opportunities for Nebraska’s farmers and clean fuels producers, who can provide ocean-going shipping vessels a better, cleaner fuel today,” Doug Bartek, chairman of Nebraska Soybean Association added.

By Konica Bhatt

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