Stakeholders involved in a first-of-its-kind biofuel trial have successfully completed a bunkering project in Singapore.
Global resources company BHP, German shipping company Oldendorff Carriers, and biofuels firm GoodFuels were involved in the trial, in partnership with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
The experiment on 4 April was the first marine biofuel trial involving an ocean-going vessel bunkered in Singapore.
As part of the trial, the 81,290 deadweight tonnage (DWT) dry bulk carrier Kira Oldendorff was refuelled with ‘drop-in’ advanced biofuel blended with conventional fossil fuels.
Oldendorff Carriers chose one of its modern Kamsarmaxes Kira Oldendorff, charted to BHP, for the trial as appropriate modifications to the vessel were easily carried out to burn the biofuel blend efficiently. Monitoring instruments were installed to capture trial data.
The advanced biofuel supplied by GoodFuels reduces CO2 emissions by 80-90% well-to-exhaust compared to Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) or Very Light Sulfur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), and uses sustainable waste and residue streams as feedstock.
The trial intended to understand the behaviour, such as the emissions, of the fuel, as well as assessing engine and vessel operational performance during the trial.
The project also explored the technical and commercial merits and challenges of biofuels as a marine fuel, allowing MPA to develop a strategy on the structural supply and use of biofuel in maritime.
Senior Director of MPA’s Operation and Marine Services, Captain Daknashamoorthy Ganasen, said, “Singapore is committed to the environmental sustainability of the shipping industry.
“We welcome interested parties to cooperate on the research, development and piloting of clean marine fuels in reducing the impact of shipping on the environment.”
