Singapore's first green methanol bunkering barge Golden Antares, owned by Singapore bunker supplier Golden Island, will be delivered at the end of April.
Golden Antares is a newbuild Singapore-flagged 7,999 deadweight tonne (dwt) IMO type 2 bunker tanker with a 6,500t carrying capacity for methanol. The barge will depart from a Chinese shipyard in Zhejiang and load a green methanol cargo at Tianjin port, according to a market source.
Chinese firm Towngas will supply the green methanol cargo with an undisclosed volume, and will ensure 75pc lifecycle greenhouse gas savings for the cargo. Golden Antares will carry the cargo to the Singapore port for bunkering trials in July.
The cargo will be stored at Stolthaven Singapore, a highly automated terminal located at Singapore's Jurong Island before the trials start. "We have sufficient capacity to cater for demand needed in Singapore," said Stolthaven Singapore's manager of business development Asia, Mark Lim.
Golden Island is also working together with a Japanese company to purchase green methanol from them, said the supplier's marine fuel department general manager Tomohiro Yamano.
Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is taking active steps in pushing methanol bunkering in Singapore. The authority on 26 March issued a notice seeking applications for methanol bunkering licences. MPA also announced a new methanol bunkering standard earlier in March.
Towngas is the first Chinese company to receive ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certifications for biomethanol, and has been awarded the certifications for the third consecutive year since 2022. Its biomethanol production plant is located in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia.
