VESSEL REVIEW |
China’s COSCO Shipping has taken delivery of a new seagoing methanol bunkering vessel for operation by China Marine Bunker (Chimbusco), the joint venture formed by COSCO Shipping and Petrohina.
According to COSCO Shipping, Chimbusco Green Energy 85 (中燃绿能85; Zhongran Luneng 85) is the first methanol bunkering vessel capable of operating nationwide in China via the country’s coastal waters.
Thanks to this capability, the ship can connect China’s northern and southern marine transport hubs and ensure full-voyage bunkering for methanol dual-fuel vessels. This would help address the issues that are normally encountered whenever methanol-powered vessels need to operate across provinces that lack the necessary bunkering infrastructure.
Huge ships, like container ships, bulk carriers and tankers, use large amounts of energy and are responsible for the corresponding climate emissions.
But new fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia, are not yet that easy to apply. Zero-emission solutions like electrification are not readily available for the largest ships either. That is why many shipowners regard the world’s oldest “fuel”
Shipping Telegraph
The Trump administration has launched a major push toward nuclear-powered commercial shipping, aiming to transform the U.S. maritime industry significantly.
On May 7, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) unveiled a new initiative focused on developing Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMR) for commercial shipping.
The initiative is part of an effort to advance President Donald J. Trump’s executive orders on unleashing American energy and restoring America’s maritime dominance.
The initiative begins with a formal Request for Information (RFI), seeking input from industry and innovators. As a first step, MARAD is calling on innovators and industry stakeholders to help develop an SMR model that revitalizes U.S. shipbuilding, cuts costs, and secures energy dominance.
European countries are forecast to source 80% of their liquefied natural gas supplies (LNG) imports from the US by 2028, deepening their reliance on LNG which threatens energy security, and posing risks for exposure to high gas prices and new forms of supply disruption, researchers at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said in a report released on Wednesday.
The ongoing energy crisis has increased Europe’s reliance on liquefied natural gas from the US, which is on track to supply two-thirds of the continent’s imports of the fuel in 2026, the IEEFA report highlights.