Methanol Has An "Historic Opportunity" As Marine Fuel: FCBI

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday December 17, 2015

FCBI Energy Tuesday released a new report on the use of methanol as a marine fuel, saying that in today's market it has an "historic opportunity" for adoption as a marine fuel.

"Methanol is abundant, biodegradable, emissions compliant, available globally and current bunkering infrastructure only requires minor modifications to handle methanol as a marine fuel," said FCBI.

It was noted that earlier this year a large Ro-Pax ship, Stena Germanica, was converted by Stena Line to use methanol bunkers.

Carl-Johan Hagman, CEO of Stena Line told FCBI, "The handling and installation of a liquid like methanol had clear advantages over gas or cryogenic fuels regarding fuel storage and bunkering."

Hagman noted that the new methanol report should "raise awareness of this marine fuel and serve as an important source of facts to anyone looking for a greener shipping fuels."

The report is authored by Professor Karin Andersson of the Department of Shipping and Marine Technology at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.

It was said to cover topics such as methanol's compliance with legislation, costs of ship conversion, methanol supply, and environmental impacts.

In July, Ship & Bunker reported that Mitsui O.S.K. Lines had made the world's first order for methanol-powered carriers.