Port of Gothenburg defines timeline for implementing ship-to-ship methanol bunkering
The Gothenburg Port Authority, which manages the largest harbour in Sweden, is getting ready to implement ship-to-ship methanol bunkering. It is planning that the new type of fuel will be used on a large scale in the coming two years. Moreover, the port authority is interested in introducing eMethanol, which produces with the help of renewable sources of energy.
Methanol has been being used in the Port of Gothenburg since 2015 when Stena Line, a major Swedish ferry operator, began to bunker its vessels from tank trucks. Now, the port authority intends to implement another methanol-related technology, namely ship-to-ship bunkering. This is a part of its decarbonisation strategy that aims for reducing the carbon footprint of the shipping sector in the port area by 70 per cent by 2030.
X-Press Feeders, the world´s largest independent feeder carrier, will introduce methanol as a shipping fuel on a larger scale already in 2023 as it will launch eight methanol-powered container ships with a carrying capacity of 1,170 TEU per each. “Now we hope to see Maersk, X-press Feeders and many other shipping lines routing their new methanol vessels to the North of Europe and we would be delighted to welcome them with open arms to the largest port in Scandinavia,” said Elvir Dzanic, CEO at the Gothenburg Port Authority.
On the way to eMethanol
The next phase in deploying methanol ship-to-ship bunkering will be the implementation of eMethanol, which is scheduled for 2024. “We are also planning for large scale storage of methanol with storage operators in the port when the demand is in place. We encourage methanol producers and stakeholders in the industry to reach out and start a dialogue with the Port of Gothenburg as we have set the aim to become a bunker and storage hub for methanol/eMethanol,” said Christoffer Lillhage, senior business development manager for energy at the Gothenburg Port Authority Since for the production of eMethanol, renewable electricity is used, the new fuel will play a significant role in the decarbonisation of the Swedish port.