EMEA News
Dredger Success Backs Biofuel's Wider use
A shipping executive has called for "the right policies and regulations to leverage the full potential of biofuel oil" following the announcement that one of his company's ships has completed 2,000 operational hours using biofuel oil.
The ship, a dredger, belongs to the Jan De Nul group and its record "proves the technical applicability and capabilities of marine biofuel in operations", according to the company.
Head of energy Michel Deruyck, said Jan De Nul would look at using biofuel on other vessels. But he added, that biofuel was "not the most economical option" in a fuel suppy industry dominated by fossil fuels.
"This transitional biofuel solution needs to be a sustainable, primary energy source," Deruyck said. "We are open to all other sustainable primary energy sources, but, for the time being, most of them are financially not competitive within the existing regulatory frameworks."
The executive said that while further research is useful, "sustainable solutions [are] already available".
The ship's chief engineer called the fuel, which is produced by Goodfuels from waste feedstock, a high-quality product.
