Americas News
Existing Methanol Fleet Could Consume 6 Million MT/Year of Ethanol, US Report
The existing methanol dual-fuel fleet could consume nearly 6 million mt/year of ethanol if the vessels were operated fully on the fuel, according to a new US report released last month.
The estimate comes from the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), a national laboratory of the US Department of Energy.
NLR said existing dual-fuel ships currently in operation could consume nearly 6 million mt, or about 2 billion gallons, of ethanol a year under a high-substitution scenario.
The estimate assumes the vessels are large container ships consuming around 100 mt/day of fuel oil and operating for 330 days a year.
The figure represents a potential market rather than a forecast that the existing fleet will switch entirely to ethanol.
Ethanol could benefit from the existing methanol fleet because the two fuels have similar properties and methanol-capable engines can operate on ethanol with little or no modification, NLR said..
Ethanol is increasingly being viewed as a viable alternative marine fuel alongside methanol.
Recently, A.P Moller-Maersk bunkered bioethanol for the first time in the US. The company has been trying out ethanol on its methanol dual-fuel ships.
However, ethanol lacks a dedicated marine fuel specification. The corresponding ISO standard is still under development, while bunkering infrastructure and supply-chain investment also need to expand.
Ship & Bunker had reported this week that IMO is favouring a limited split between methanol and ethanol in its safety rules for alcohol-fuelled ships.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 854.00 | 11.50 | 1278.50 | 11.00 |
| Rotterdam | 681.00 | 5.50 | 1400.00 | 10.00 |
| Houston | 725.50 | 15.00 | 1364.50 | 23.50 |
| Fujairah | 944.50 | 19.00 | 1675.50 | 9.00 |
| Americas Average | 898.00 | 11.50 | 1599.50 | 6.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 860.50 | 15.50 | 1522.00 | 1.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 801.00 | 13.00 | 1429.50 | 4.00 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 922.00 | 13.00 | 1596.50 | 2.50 |
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