Stena Oil Orders Methanol and Biofuel Bunker Delivery Vessel

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday November 10, 2022

Scandinavian firm Stena Oil has ordered its first methanol and biofuel bunker delivery vessel.

The firm has ordered the 2,000 DWT oil products and chemicals tanker from Genka Shipping, it said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

The vessel is being built at the Pendik Naval Shipyard in Turkey, with delivery expected in June 2023.

"The new vessel will support Stena Oil's transition into offering lower-carbon liquid fuels and expands its current fleet with an IMO type II Chemical tanker capable of bunkering methanol and biofuels in complete segregations to our customers in the North European region," the company said in the statement.

"The growing momentum behind methanol-powered vessels across the shipping industry highlights methanol's key advantage as a cleaner marine fuel.

"The newbuild vessel will provide versatility as she will be able to carry both oil, methanol and bioderived fuels in coated cargo tanks over five complete segregations, thus allowing Stena Oil to expand its product portfolio with safe carriage of alternative fuel types for its customers."

The prospects for methanol as a bunker fuel have advanced considerably over the past two years since AP Moller-Maersk announced it would use methanol propulsion for its first net zero-emission boxships. Orders for methanol-fuelled ships outnumbered those with LNG fuel systems last month, according to classification society DNV.

The ferry Stena Germanica has been running on methanol for the past decade after a retrofit.