VPS: Methanol as a Marine Fuel

It's very apparent, global shipping's drive to decarbonise is well underway.

The ship-building profile is changing dramatically, highlighted by the 2023 order book showing 539 newbuilds capable of running on low-to-zero carbon fuels, being ordered.

This equates to 45% of all orders in terms of gross tonnage. LNG dual-fuel vessels are currently the most popular vessels of choice, but Methanol-capable vessels have gained traction.

Looking at Jan-Sept 2024, 49% of the gross tonnage on order was for vessels configured to be alternative fuels ready, with this specific order book growing by 24% year-on-year. It's obvious that shipping is keeping its options very much open and looking for as much flexibility as possible, when it comes to the fuel choices for its ships.

The industry currently bunkers 230 Million mt of fuel per year. Burning this fuel equates to emissions of 716M mt of CO2-equivalent, as the majority of the fuel burnt continues to be traditional fossil fuels. However, the list of environmental legislation and directives to reduce emissions from shipping is ever-increasing in order to reduce SOx, NOx, Particulate Matter, CO2, Methane and other greenhouse gases.

It is this regulatory demand which is driving the developments of numerous alternative low-to-zero carbon fuels for marine use.

VPS has been and continues to be, at the forefront of fuels research and development and continues to pioneer and develop test methods for such fuels.

Methanol bunkers and bunkering facilities are growing with 13 ports now offering methanol. But this methanol is predominantly grey, and Tank-to-Wake emissions from grey methanol are similar to conventional fossil fuels.

The maritime sector must look to use the sustainable "green" methanol options of e-methanol, bio-methanol, or blue methanol:

Image Credit: VPS

IRENA forecasts e-methanol will reach a production level of 250M mt and bio-methanol will reach 135M mt by 2050.

Currently we see 39 methanol-powered ships on our seas, but a further 262 are on order.

As with all fuels, there are numerous pros and cons to using methanol as a marine fuel:
methanol fuel handling and management is certainly easier than that for LNG, with retrofit costs being less expensive and easier. Plus, green methanol sources offer almost near-zero GHG emissions.

In terms of ECA compliance Methanol conforms to SOx, NOx and PM content. It is biodegradable, miscible with water and a liquid at atmospheric pressure, all of which are positive factors in terms of fuel management and handling.

As demand grows, methanol should become more cost competitive, with increasing number of ports providing methanol.

However, methanol has half the energy of maritime's current fossil fuels and a Flash Point of only 12ºC. Current availability of green methanol, is still an issue, yet this year industry news has highlighted that some green methanol projects have been cancelled, eg one in Antwerp (Orsted) and Flagship-One in Sweden.

Over the past two years, VPS have made significant investments in CAPEX for new laboratory equipment, plus the training of laboratory staff, technical advisors and bunker quantity surveyors, in order to survey, sample and test methanol bunkers.

The summer of 2023 saw VPS act the partner of choice to Maersk and undertook work during the maiden voyage of the Laura Maersk. We surveyed, sampled and tested, the methanol loadings in Singapore, Port Said and Rotterdam. As part of the requirements, changes to bunkering practices and procedures included heightened H&S processes, increased levels of tank cleaning, the use of closed-sampling devices and the use of biofuel as the pilot fuel, which also required testing. Testing was under the International Methanol Producers and Consumers Association (IMPCA) specification, with the results all on specification from all three loadings.

Since then, VPS has also worked with OCI covering similar work on the ECO Maestro.

In October 2024, it was announced at SIBCON-24, that Singapore will release a new technical reference standard for Methanol before year end, which covers fuel transfer, quality and quantity measurements as well operational and safety instructions as well as crew training. VPS has been closely involved in the development of this new Methanol Standard by being part of the Working Group.

This same group will also release a similar standard for Ammonia in 2025.

The announcement from Singapore was followed by a further notification from the International Standards Organisation (ISO) in November 2024. The ISO announcement highlighted the release of the publication of the first edition of their international standard for methanol as marine fuel, ISO 6583:2024.  This standard sets the requirements and limits for three methanol grades for marine: MMA, MMB and MMC. It uses the IMPCA specifications as a starting point, with some properties less critical for marine and other fuel related aspects not covered. Grade MMC allows for wider tolerances in certain characteristics compared to MMB, while MMA includes additional requirements for lubricity and cleanliness. The new Singapore Methanol Standard will make reference to the ISO 6583 for quality requirements under its custody transfer section.

Summary

As decarbonisation and legislation drivies the development of low-to-zero carbon fuels, demand for methanol will grow as it provides an excellent way to achieve immediate reductions of emissions compared to fossil fuels.

VPS are experienced in providing methanol surveying, sampling and testing work and capable of offering key technical support to our customers.

All of this is evidence that the global shipping industry is well on its way and intent on delivering upon its decarbonisation goals, but with many challenges still to overcome.

Contact

For more information on how VPS can assist you with your use of methanol as a marine fuel, please contact: Steve.bee@vpsveritas.com, or contact you local VPS Account Manager.