Biofuels are now being touted as a future fuel for shipping. A roundtable this week organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), BHP and GoodFuels Marine brought together shipowners of different ship types to network, share insights into the use of biofuels to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations as well as explore areas of collaboration.
BHP and GoodFuels also signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to collaborate on a biofuels pilot project in Singapore, which is expected to be carried out early next year.
Abdes Karimi, manager of ocean freight operations and sustainability at BHP, said, “In a world fighting to combat climate change, it is important that marine biofuels get in the evoked set of options for shippers to choose from.”
Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO of GoodFuels, said, “We are very proud that our biofuel-footprint of supply locations and sustainable customers is spreading from Europe to the largest bunkering port in the world and our first Asian partner as well. From now on, sustainable marine biofuels are available in Singapore for those ship and freight owners that want to eliminate their carbon and sulphur emissions.”
With IMO’s 2020 sulphur deadline on the horizon many alternate fuels are being looked at across the world. While LNG has been touted as the favourite alternative to heavy bunker oil, other fuels are also in the mix. Earlier this week, for instance, Dorian LPG revealed plans to use LPG as a marine fuel.
