Port of Rotterdam and Vast looking into electrification of oil tankers

The Port of Rotterdam, one of Europe’s major energy hubs, has partnered with Brazilian Vast Infraestrutura, a Prumo Group company providing oil transshipment services, to study the electrification of oil tankers at berth globally.

To this end, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct fleet studies, energy demand assessments, and other key factors necessary to enable onshore power supply (OPS) for oil tankers.

Under the initiative named OPS for Tankers First Movers Coalition, the parties seek to engage maritime industry stakeholders, including shipowners, oil companies, terminals, and trade associations, to develop a joint action plan to encourage the use of onshore power supply for oil tankers.

The agreement outlines case studies on fleet composition, shipping routes, adaptability of major liquid terminals worldwide, energy demand, and other factors involved in ensuring safe connection of tankers to the power grid.

As explained, multiple stakeholders will be involved after the commissioning of the study and the results will be presented to regulatory bodies, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to seek support for the regulations required for the successful implementation of this technology in the future.

In the maritime sector, onshore power supply is considered a technology that enables clean decarbonization of berthed vessels, but it has yet to be widely adopted by the oil tanker industry. Therefore, Vast and the Port of Rotterdam intend to lead the first case study with a focus on crude oil tankers. Future case studies will address other segments of the oil tanker market.

As disclosed, the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), of which Vast is a member, has formed a group on OPS, which has already published preliminary design recommendations for oil tankers and terminals and has also announced a comprehensive information document covering aspects of safe application. The Port of Rotterdam also contributed to the material based on detailed studies.

“Today, there are three major barriers: technology, adequate port infrastructure and a fleet capable of connecting to the grid. Through this partnership, we aim to engage multiple stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of OPS for oil tankers, which is already considered an efficient way to decarbonize other types of vessels at berth. The oil tanker market presents specific challenges that we want to address in this project,” said Adriano Truffi Lima, Sustainability Director at Vast Infraestrutura.

“One of the pillars of Vast’s decarbonization plan is to develop collaborative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime segment and help reduce the environmental footprint of oil exports in Brazil. The initial cooperation with the Port of Rotterdam, one of the world’s leading ports, is a strategy to achieve this goal.”

The Port of Rotterdam is one of the main ports of entry for crude oil in Europe and a key destination for oil tankers transshipping at Vast’s terminal located in Porto do Açu, in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

In 2024, Vast accounted for almost 40% of Brazil’s total crude oil exports. Brazil’s oil exports are expected to triple by 2030.