Industrial gas distributor and chemical manufacturer OCI Global has successfully fuelled the world’s first green methanol-powered ship in what the company calls a ‘significant milestone’ for the shipping industry.Taking place on 16th July, the bunkering operation saw OCI supply A.P. Moller Maersk’s container ship with its HyFuels ISCC certified green methanol.According to OCI, the ship – which launched from Ulsan, Korea – will now set sail through some of the world’s busiest shipping routes on its maiden voyage, bunkering in Singapore, Egypt and Rotterdam en route.Commenting on the announcement, Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI, said, This journey marks the beginning of a new, more sustainable era in shipping and proves the reliability, safety and efficiency of green methanol as the first low carbon shipping fuel.”“The successful bunkering is a testament to the collaboration of our partners including the Ulsan Port Authority, Maersk and transptation and storage partner, Odfjell, with the support of the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.”In addition to serving as a catalyst for future green methanol initiatives, the voyage complements the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s recently announced global decarbonisation targets for the maritime industry.Between the 3rd and 7th of July, Member States of the IMO met at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80), adopting the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.The revised strategy includes an enhanced common ambition to reach Net Zero GHG emissions from international shipping close to 2050, a commitment to ensure an uptake of alternative zero and near-zero GHG fuels by 2030.News of the bunkering also comes just one month after OCI announced that it was partnering with Maersk to fuel the first ever green methanol-powered container ship.Under the partnership, OCI will provide green biomethanol to power the maiden voyage of arsk’s first dual-fuelled container ship.Based on current orders from the marine sector, OCI anticipates incremental global demand for methanol at four million tonnes per year in the next five years.In anticipation of this increased demand, the company has announced several major projects to increase sustainable production of its two core products.These include GasifHy, a gasification project at its existing European methanol facility to shift it to green methanol production, a 1.1mtpa (million tonnes per annum) in Texas, US, and its Egypt green ammonia facility through Fertiglobe.
