Singapore Welcomes Its First-Ever Methanol Bunkering Vessel

The first-ever methanol bunkering vessel has arrived in Singapore, marking an important milestone in the country’s pledge for alternative marine fuels.

Stellar Shipmanagement Services Pte, a division of Global Energy Group, received the 4,000 dwt IMO Type 2 chemical and oil tanker, MT Maple.

Built in Hiroshima, Japan, by Sasaki Shipbuilding Co., the vessel fulfils the licensing requirements for oil product bunker tankers set forth by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The cargo tanks of the MT Maple are coated specifically with inorganic zinc silicates.

Loh Hong Leong, Managing Director of Global Energy Group, expressed confidence in the vessel’s ability to handle a variety of marine fuels, especially methanol and biofuels. This development supports the switch to low-carbon transitional marine fuels and aligns with the industry’s more considerable decarbonisation efforts.

Vice-President of Bureau Veritas for Marine & Offshore in South Asia and the Pacific, David Barrow, stressed the vessel’s role in encouraging the use of low-carbon alternative fuels in shipping.

Singapore’s first-ever methanol bunkering vessel is ready to help the industry expand its supply and bunkering capabilities by making it easier to deliver methanol to ships docking at the port.

The construction of the tanker was overseen by Stellar Shipmanagement Services, which is in charge of providing complete technical management and crewing services for the fleet of Global Energy Group.

Bureau Veritas, Global Energy Group, and Stellar Shipmanagement Services are members of a working group under the direction of the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Reference: Offshore Energy