MOL, Trafigura to establish biodiesel fuel supply system

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), its unit MOL Chemical Tankers (MOLCT), Singapore-based commodity trading company Trafigura and its vessel fuel supply joint-venture company TFG Marine have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

As informed, the MOU is for a joint study on the full-scale supply of biodiesel fuel (BDF) for MOLCT-operated vessels in bunkering ports around the world.

Based on the MOU, the companies will move forward with the study, with the intention to establish a global supply of BDF for the MOLCT-operated fleet.

As a part of the joint study, the companies have conducted a sea trial using TFG Marine-supplied BDF on the MOLCT-operated chemical tanker Niseko Galaxy.

About 200 metric tonnes of BDF were bunkered in the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in early March, with the sea trial completing as the vessel reached its journey off the U.S. Gulf Coast.

TFG Marine’s BDF supplied for the sea trial required no modifications to the vessel’s diesel engine.

The use of BDF is expected to achieve a 25~30% reduction in CO2 emissions on a mix of 30% BDF and 70% conventional heavy fuel oil.

In June 2021, the MOL Group announced a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The group set the initiative to “adopt clean alternative fuels” to help achieve this target, positioning BDF as an effective alternative to fossil fuels.

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