News / To use greener fuel, carriers must plan much further ahead to ensure supplies

Photo: Martina Li

Shipping lines now have to look even further ahead when buying alternative fuels, instead of the short-term vision adopted when conventional fuel oil was burned.

Ocean Network Express’ (ONE) deputy general manager of fuel Richard Ho (above) disclosed at the Marine Fuels 360 conference in Singapore this week that the uncertainties surrounding the availability of various alternative fuels meant that ship operators had to think longer-term as the world moves towards decarbonisation by 2050.

Mr Ho said: “We used to be looking at marine fuel-buying for the near term, three to six months, and adopted and adapted accordingly. The moment we go into a new marine fuel, we’re no longer looking at three months, six months or even a one-year horizon. We’re looking at a multi-year horizon, to make sure we can procure a certain level of alternative fuels, whether it’s ammonia or methanol.”

ONE has 48 neo-panamax newbuildings on order from Nihon Shipyard, Imabari Shipbuilding, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, mostly ammonia- or methanol-ready. The sixth largest liner operator is also trialling biofuels on existing vessels.

Mr Ho explained: “Each shipping company is in a different stage of development. They also have different stages of decarbonisation, in various ways.

“There’s going to be an increase for different fuels with the growth of the global economy, but with respect to every shipping line, the demand within each organisation may differ, depending on its decarbonisation effort.”

Representatives of shipping lines attending the event were, largely, unable to quantify the decarbonisation stage they had reached, but each has different strategies to achieve net-zero. For example, PIL is trialling biofuels on its current fleet and opting for LNG dual-fuel for its newbuildings.

It was also noted that while CMA CGM had initially requested methanol dual-fuel for its latest 9,200 teu newbuildings at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, the French carrier has reportedly requested a switch to LNG, due to concerns over insufficient methanol supply in the market.

Mr Ho stressed that to be net-zero was not just about burning alternatives to fossil fuels, but also about reducing carbon footprint in companies’ overall operations.

He said: “Using e-BDNs (bunker delivery notes) is also a decarbonisation effort, because it reduces the manpower and it reduces people movement. And we’re looking at other areas, technology-wise – whether it’s wind power, biofuels… In that aspect, we’re not just looking at shipping alone. We’re looking at the whole supply chain.”