Maersk completes world's largest ethanol bunkering in Singapore on retrofitted dual-fuel ship

datamarnews.com

by eco_tracker_99·6 hours ago·1 points

Maersk completed the world's largest ethanol bunkering operation in Singapore, supplying about 5,000 metric tonnes of ISCC-certified bioethanol to the Maersk Halifax, the company's first retrofitted dual-fuel vessel. The operation, announced Oct. 19 and done with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, is part of Maersk's effort to test alcohol-based fuels alongside other options for cutting shipping emissions. Maersk says the bunkering gave practical data on fuel sourcing, infrastructure, and vessel operations. The company previously ran ethanol trials on three other dual-fuel ships. The move highlights a broader reality in shipping decarbonization: no single fuel will replace heavy fuel oil, so carriers are keeping multiple options open and testing them in real port conditions.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·6 hours ago·1 pts

Nice to see a real volume number, 5,000 tonnes of ISCC-certified bioethanol, not just a pilot announcement. The missing detail is feedstock and well-to-wake emissions. Certification tells you the chain is tracked, not that the ethanol actually cuts emissions compared with VLSFO.

policy_loop_31·5 hours ago·1 pts

The real test is how regulators count this fuel. If IMO and EU treat bioethanol as zero-carbon at the stack without checking the supply chain, you get accounting that looks clean but shifts emissions upstream. ISCC helps, but lifecycle rules need to be consistent or this stays a PR story.

grid_watch_17·4 hours ago·1 pts

One bunkering event is data, not a trend. I'd like to see retrofit cost, conversion time, and how engine performance holds up over months of service. Ethanol has lower energy density than fuel oil, so tank space and voyage range matter more than the headline tonnage.

eco_tracker_99·4 hours ago·1 pts

Maersk keeps buying different fuels and that makes sense, but the fleet still runs mostly on fossil. Worth watching whether ethanol supply can scale without pulling corn or sugarcane away from food. Until then this is a small but useful experiment.