Singapore-based shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) has completed the third trial of marine biofuel onboard the Singapore-flagged container vessel NYK Fuji, in collaboration with shipowner Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, with the assistance and supervision of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
The 2011-built container vessel was refuelled with 1,300 metric tonnes of marine biofuel product during bunkering at the Port of Singapore, on 11 February, and the trial started ten days later, after the vessel passed the Malacca Straits, sailing onwards to the ports of Durban and Cape Town, before returning to Southeast Asia.
The vessel, deployed on ONE’s South Africa Service (SAS), fully consumed the biofuel in 45 days, according to a statement.
The biofuel product used was a blend of brown grease methyl ester (BGME), a type of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), with very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), supplied by BP.
The BGME used is produced from feedstocks labelled as 100% waste or residue and is certified for its sustainability to internationally recognised standards.
“It is a sustainable biofuel component that is technically and operationally similar to petroleum-derived marine fuels,” said ONE in a statement.
“This latest biofuel trial proves the potential to expand the use of sustainable biofuel components and marks yet another step forward for ONE’s sustainability initiatives, which include four areas of priority: Environment, Social, Governance, and Operational Excellence,” said an official of the Singapore-based liner operator, adding that the use of green fuel such as biofuel will help to reduce carbon footprint to achieve its environmental sustainability target of net zero emission by 2050.
Last year, the company conducted its first and second biofuel trials onboard a Panamax boxship MOL Experience in the Port of Rotterdam.
