Vitol to Add Biofuel Barges in Singapore Next Year

Singapore has seen rapid growth in biofuel blend sales over the past year. File Image / Pixabay

Global commodity trading firm Vitol is set to take delivery of a set of bunker barges for biofuel blends in Singapore next year, and may consider converting them to carry methanol at a later date.

The company will take delivery of the first of the barges in January, it said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. It expects to add several more in the coming months, a Vitol representative told Ship & Bunker.

The firm will then be able to deliver a range of biofuel blends, going up to B100 if demand emerges.

"Depending on demand, these vessels could also be upgraded to supply methanol," the company said in the statement.

"Bio and e-methanol are also significant pathways for the industry to achieve decarbonisation and there have been a number of specialist dual-fuel methanol powered vessels on order for delivery starting from next year."

Singapore has seen rapid growth in biofuel blend sales over the past year, and is likely to overtake Rotterdam as the world's largest supply location for them within the next few months. The city-state saw a total of 327,800 mt of sales of the blends in January to September, up from 75,000 mt in the same period a year earlier.

"The delivery of specialist barges is an exciting development for Vitol and its sustainability offerings in Asia," Mike Muller, head of Vitol Asia, said in the statement.

"As the shipping industry steps up its pursuit of decarbonisation solutions, barges that can deliver bunker fuel with a much higher concentration of biofuels represents a material step in the right direction."

Demand for biofuel bunker blends is increasing as shipowners take them on as a drop-in replacement for conventional fuels with a lower carbon footprint, allowing them to reduce GHG emissions without investing in new ships capable of running on other alternative fuels.