EMEA News
First Methanol Bunkering Operation at Egypt's East Port Said
East Port Said in Egypt has seen its first methanol bunkering operation.
AP Moller-Maersk's new methanol-powered boxship stopped off at East Port Said last week, taking on about 500 mt of bio-methanol, the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone said in a statement on its website on Friday.
The boxship is on its maiden voyage from its shipyard in South Korea to its naming ceremony in Copenhagen next month.
OCI Global provided the methanol, using the barge Lara S, and the operation took about six hours.
"This operation is the first of its kind in Egypt, Africa, and the Middle East, as part of Egypt's strategy to restore its role in ships' bunkering services, whether with fossil or green fuel and then enhance the benefit from the prime location of its seaports on the Red sea and Mediterranean sea," the authority said in the statement.
"SCZONE plans to transform its ports into a regional hub for bunkering services with fossil or green fuels, in addition to its endeavour to localize the green fuel industry and the feeding and complementary industries to achieve an added value through its unique geographical location."
Methanol is rapidly gaining in popularity as an alternative marine fuel, with orders of methanol-fuelled tonnage now coming in regularly from a variety of shipping segments. The main challenge for this market will be the scaling-up of green methanol supply in time to meet the needs of the new ships as they are delivered.
