TotalEnergies and COSCO in milestone biofuel bunkering op

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels has completed the first refueling of a COSCO Shipping Lines containership with sustainable marine biofuel. This is TotalEnergies’ first biofuel bunkering operation for a containership in Singapore.

On 11 July, the 4,250 TEU COSCO HOUSTON container vessel was bunkered with TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel in Singapore, via ship-to-ship transfer.

VLSFO (very low sulfur fuel oil) blended with 20 per cent second-generation, waste-based and ISCC-certified UCOME (used cooking oil methyl ester), was bunkered. This was made possible with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the involvement of local partners such as tank storage company, Vopak Terminals Singapore at Penjuru.

Biofuel will reduce approximately 17 per cent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with conventional fuel oil. The biofuel has been consumed during the container vessel’s voyage to Jakarta, Indonesia.

Laura Ong, general manager of Trading and Operations for Asia Pacific, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels, said: “This successful collaboration lays a foundation for both companies to explore new joint initiatives that promote the introduction of clean, low-carbon alternative fuels.”

“This milestone bio-bunkering operation also further validates the important role of biofuels in decarbonizing conventional marine fuels, and the potential GHG reduction gains it can bring to existing vessels. In line with TotalEnergies’ climate ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 together with society, we will continue to scale up our biofuel capabilities and to support the growing interest for sustainable marine biofuels in this region.”

This operation follows biofuel bunkering trials that TotalEnergies Marine Fuels performed in Singapore with a vehicle carrier operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and a bulk carrier chartered by NYK Line this year.