Mabanaft to supply TUI Cruises ships with green methanol in Northern Germany

Hamburg-based energy company Mabanaft has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with compatriot cruise company TUI Cruises to supply green methanol in the future.

As explained, the MoU marks the beginning of a long-term strategic partnership between Mabanaft and TUI Cruises. As part of the agreement, Mabanaft is set to cover TUI Cruises’ methanol needs in Northern Germany – and potentially in other European ports in the future. The company intends to focus on a gradual transition to synthetic e-methanol.

The cooperation between Mabanaft and TUI Cruises kicks off with a methanol delivery for the Mein Schiff 7, a methanol-ready cruise ship ordered by TUI which was recently launched in Finland.

By joining forces, Mabanaft and TUI Cruises want to contribute to making the cruise industry more climate friendly.

With the commissioning of Mein Schiff 7 in 2024, TUI Cruises is taking into operation a cruise ship that can also run on methanol, or green methanol in perspective.

Over the next few years, TUI Cruises intends to add further dual-fuel methanol-ready cruise ships to its fleet in Germany.

The Mabanaft Group, among others supplier of transportation fuels and operator of tank terminals in Germany, Denmark and Hungary, intends to supplement its range of marine fuels with methanol and other hydrogen derivatives from regenerative sources to help its customers speed up their defossilization efforts.

In order to supply TUI Cruises, among others, with methanol, Mabanaft is also planning the necessary storage and bunkering infrastructure in Hamburg and potentially other ports.

Mabanaft said it is committed to develop and expand clean energy offerings to its shipping customers, both in Germany and worldwide.

“Green methanol is expected to play an immediate role in the decarbonisation of shipping – methanol dual-fuel-engines are readily available and existing fuelling infrastructure can be re-purposed to deliver methanol to our customers,” Volker Ebeling, Senior Vice President New Energy, Supply & Infrastructure at Mabanaft, said.

“From biofuels, to hydrogen, ammonia and methanol – we want to make all these transition options available to the shipping industry. For us, this agreement with TUI Cruises is an important step towards providing an integrated methanol fuel solution.”

“Climate-neutral cruises are a question of the appropriate technologies and long-term strategies. We have both. On the one hand, we are continuously equipping our fleets with innovative propulsion systems, on the other hand, we are securing their supply of alternative fuels – through cooperation with partners such as Mabanaft. This is how we will achieve our goals,” Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI Cruises, commented.