IKEA Transport & Logistics Services, CMA CGM, the GoodShipping Program and the Port of Rotterdam have today announced they will cooperate in a first of its kind partnership to test and scale the use of sustainable marine biofuel oil. The test will commence with a landmark bunkering of the marine biofuel oil on a CMA CGM container vessel on March 19, in what the companies claimed in a release marked a “major step towards the decarbonisation of ocean freight”.
The biofuel oil is completely derived from forest residues and waste oil products, with the parties involved saying it should deliver 80-90% well-to-propeller CO2 reduction versus fossil equivalents, and virtually eliminate sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions – all without any requirement for engine modifications.
Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld, head of sustainability, IKEA Global Transport & Logistics Services, said: “Through our pilot we want to show that the means for decarbonisation in terms of alternative fuels are available. We have a responsibility to do our part to reduce the impact of our ocean freight. Through our participation we send a signal to our customers and the ocean industry on our commitment to decarbonise. Only through collaboration can we achieve rapid, necessary change. With a successful pilot completed, our intention is to put the equivalent of at least all our containers out of Rotterdam on biofuel.”
