NYK wraps up fourth biofuel trial

Friendship, a Capesize bulker owned by Greek shipowner Seanergy Maritime and chartered by Japanese shipping firm NYK, has collaborated with British mining company Anglo American to complete a trial using biofuel to transport cargo.

This is the fourth trial use of biofuel by NYK , the second in cooperation with Anglo American and the first with Seanergy Maritime.

Biofuels are considered to be carbon-neutral because the carbon dioxide that is absorbed by the source of the biomass is equal to the carbon dioxide that is released when the fuel is burned. With increasing demands for reducing greenhouse gases emitted from ships by oceangoing shipping around the world, biofuels are currently attracting attention as an alternative fuel for ships to replace heavy oil.

In this test voyage, the vessel was fueled with biofuel by TotalEnergies Marine Fuels, a dedicated business unit in charge of worldwide bunkering activities at the Port of Singapore in January 2022, and a test voyage was completed on a two-way voyage between Singapore and Saldanha Bay.

The biofuel is a 0.50% VLSFO blended with a waste-based and ISCC certified FAME component at a 90% – 10% ratio. Advanced real time monitoring instruments and AI have been used to assess the results of the trials.

As a result, the trial showed that biofuel can result in up to 10% CO2 emissions reduction when compared with conventional marine fuel.

“The new marine biofuels coming to market can contribute significantly to the imminent need to reduce the GHG emissions. We strongly believe that using biofuels, in combination with the energy saving devices (ESDs) installed or to be installed on our vessels, will cater for a smooth transition to greener energy, whilst providing a competitive and compliance advantage for early movers,” Stelios Psillakis, the Company’s Technical Director, commented.

“Beyond 2030, we expect the marine industry to be technologically mature to adopt alternative energy solutions.”

NYK’s decarbonization journey

The NYK Group has set a long-term target of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) by 2050 for the NYK Group’s oceangoing businesses and has positioned biofuels as an effective alternative to heavy oil for vessels. The group is actively conducting test runs.

On February 3, 2021, NYK released the NYK Group ESG Story, which aims to further integrate ESG into the company’s management strategy and promotes activities that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through business activities. To strongly promote ESG management, the NYK Group aims to encourage new value creation as a sustainable solution provider through a business strategy that includes the introduction of next-generation fuels, such as biofuel, which has a low environmental impact.

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