On 27 July 2023, Vopak became a proud partner in completing Singapore’s first ship-to-ship bio-methanol bunkering operation. This is a milestone in Singapore’s maritime decarbonization journey in the multi-fueled future. The biomethanol bunkering operation started from Vopak’s Sakra industrial terminal with a bunker barge transferring biomethanol fuel supplied by OCI Fuel to the world’s first methanol enabled container vessel owned by Maersk.
On this, President of Business Unit Singapore, Rob Boudestijn shared, "We congratulate Singapore on this important milestone and are proud to be a partner in completing this bio-methanol bunkering operation safely. As a reliable infrastructure provider for maritime bunkering over the past 40 years, we look forward to playing a leading role in enabling Singapore’s maritime decarbonization journey in the multi-fueled future."
Terminal Manager Aik Wah Lim added, "In Singapore, we have been handling the majority of methanol storage safely for years. Prior to this operation, we conducted a safety analysis with a consultant, and worked closely with the various stakeholders and partners to ensure everything will run smoothly. Our operations team’s experience and knowledge with handling methanol helped to ensure a smooth loading process, giving our partners confidence in Vopak handling bio-methanol operations."
Rob added, “Building on 40 years of experience in Singapore, Vopak has been safely storing and handling critical energy and chemical products for our customers across various industries. For a low-carbon future, we are working towards infrastructure solutions related to hydrogen, ammonia, CO2, biofuels, recycled chemicals as well as solar redox batteries. As the maritime industry engages in the energy transition, they can leverage on our proven expertise and assets in safely storing and handling ammonia and biofuels such as biomethanol."
Link to news release from Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
Vopak Sakra Terminal
Insulated tank to store biomethanol
Preparing for product transfer
For more information please contact:
Vopak Press: Alexis Oh - Regional Communications Manager (Asia & Middle East)
e-mail: alexis.oh@vopak.com