Asia/Pacific News
IBIA CONVENTION 2025: China's Ambitions Make Methanol Attractive for Bulkers
China's focus on the production of green methanol will make the alternative fuel an attractive option for the dry bulk industry, according to classification society DNV.
Bulkers have had limited uptake of methanol-fuelled ships thus far, but this has begun to change in recent months with China's backing for the fuel, Jason Stefanatos, global decarbonisation director at DNV, said in a presentation at the IBIA Annual Convention in Hong Kong last week.
"China is very focused on green methanol production; there will be green methanol available in the major Chinese ports," he said.
"We see many shipowners that plan to trade heavily in China, they go for methanol-fuelled bulk carriers, and this is because they know they will find green methanol.
"But also they have commercial agreements.
"So they key takeaway from this is it's not only about about the techno-economics, it's beyond that what happens at the regional and commercial level as well."
While China's methanol guarantees will be helpful for the bulk industry, supply will also need to emerge elsewhere in the world. Dry bulk as a segment is heavily involved in the tramp trade, with much less ability to forecast the ports where its ships will be needed, and as such would need to see methanol emerge as an alternative fuel at a wide range of ports before it can have greater confidence in it as a future option.
