Maersk, Golden Island and PSA Singapore (PSA) successfully completed Singapore’s first ethanol bunkering operation at PSA’s Pasir Panjang Terminal, with the support of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
The operation was conducted simultaneously with cargo operations (SIMOPS), with bioethanol bunkered using a mass flow meter (MFM).
Maersk Halifax, a Singapore-registered dual-fuel container vessel, was bunkered with approximately 5000 metric tonnes of ISCC-certified bioethanol from Golden Island’s Singapore-registered IMO Type II chemical tanker, MT Golden Centaurus, while container operations were carried out concurrently. This was the largest volume of ethanol bunkered in a single operation globally to date.
The operation will provide data and learning points to assess how Singapore’s existing methanol bunkering technical reference, TR 129, could be adapted for ethanol bunkering.
Ang Wee Keong, chief executive, MPA, said, “This operation allows us to test how Singapore’s experience and existing infrastructure for methanol bunkering can support another emerging marine fuel. The findings will help us develop the standards and procedures needed for safe and efficient ethanol bunkering, as we continue to prepare Singapore for a multi-fuel future.”
“The energy transition requires us to explore and scale solutions that can deliver real-world impact,” said Emma Mazhari, head of energy markets, Maersk. “At Maersk, we continue to pursue a multi-fuel strategy because we recognise that no single fuel pathway can decarbonise global shipping on its own.”
Johnny Tan, managing director, Golden Island, said: “We are proud to have delivered Singapore’s first ethanol bunkering, and to have done it alongside live cargo operations, using a mass flow meter. Our crew and Golden Centaurus built on what we learned in methanol bunkering and followed the same safety-first discipline.”
