X-Press Feeders readies for methanol-powered future in the Baltic

Feeder giant X-Press Feeders has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with six European ports to speed up the provision of green fuels, particularly methanol.

The agreement will focus on north Europe, with ports covered including Antwerp Bruges, Tallinn, Riga, Klaipeda and Finland’s HaminaKotka and Helsinki. 

“This landmark agreement signifies a joint commitment to accelerate the establishment of green shipping corridors and the broader decarbonization of the marine sector in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea,” X-Press Feeders stated in a release. The company is in the process of receiving a series of methanol-fuelled ships destined for the Baltic, while last year Maersk deployed the world’s first methanol-fuelled boxship also in the Baltic.  

As well as working to provide green methanol bunkering, the six ports and X-Press Feeders have agreed to provide further training programs for port workers and seafarers with regards to the handling of alternative fuels as well as leveraging digital platforms to enhance port call optimisation.

X-Press Feeders’ chief operating officer, Francis Goh, commented: “By working together – X-Press Feeders and the six partner ports – aim to efficiently implement green shipping corridors and lead the maritime industry in sustainability. We chose the Nordic and Baltic states as the first markets to deploy our green methanol-powered vessels because we found the ports and our customers in these markets to be very receptive.”