Finnish shipping company ESL Shipping will become the world’s first shipping company to start utilising new low-emission Neste Marine 0.1 co-processed marine fuel in its vessels in Finland and Sweden. The ISCC PLUS certified marine fuel enables up to 80% reduced greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycle compared to fossil fuels, the fuel’s developer claims.
“The co-processed marine fuel is something we have been waiting for a long time. ESL Shipping is committed to leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the maritime industry, and we are now fortunate to be able to use this low-emission alternative without having to do any fleet modifications. We believe this is the right thing to do, and I’m convinced we in the Nordics are well-positioned to show the way for the global maritime industry,” said Mikki Koskinen, managing director of ESL Shipping.
Neste Marine 0.1 co-processed marine fuel is currently in the piloting phase and it is produced at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland, where part of the fossil raw materials have been replaced with renewable raw materials in the conventional refining process. The drop-in fuel can be taken in use without any fleet modifications as it has a similar composition to conventional bunker fuels.
In related news, ESL Shipping today announced it has signed a €20m ($21m) loan agreement with Nordic Investment Bank as part of the financing of the company’s investment in a series of six new electric hybrid 5,350 dwt vessels.
