Singapore's Golden Island to trial methanol bunkering from July

Singapore bunker supplier Golden Island said on April 2 that it plans to start bunkering trials of low-carbon methanol with its newbuild Singapore-flagged bunker tanker in July.

Golden Island will take delivery of the Golden Antares, a 7,999 dwt IMO type II vessel from a Chinese shipyard, by the end of April.

The bunker tanker will transport methanol from Towngas (Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited), which has obtained ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certifications for green methanol, to Singapore for the bunkering trials.

The low-carbon methanol will be stored at a Stolthaven Singapore-operated terminal before the trials start in July.

The methanol bunker trials will mark an important step towards laying the foundation for future methanol bunkering at scale and spurring Singapore's ambitions as a multi-fuel bunkering hub, the company said.

"With the above steps in place, we ensure green methanol marine fuel provided by Golden Island offers Carbon Intensity (CI) savings of more than 75% when compared against the CI of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil," said Golden Island's marine fuel general manager Tomohiro Yamano.

The Golden Antares is fitted with mass flow meters and has a 6,500 mt capacity for carrying capacity for methanol.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore on March 26 opened applications for licenses to supply methanol as a marine fuel in Singapore.

The development follows the finalization of Singapore's methanol bunkering licensing framework and standards, which incorporated input from over 50 proposals received under the MPA's Expression of Interest launched in December 2023, as well as methanol bunkering trials and operations conducted in Singapore since 2023.

Additionally, the MPA and Enterprise Singapore on March 10 published a new Technical Reference (TR) 129 on methanol bunkering to provide a comprehensive framework for the safe and efficient use of methanol as an alternative fuel.

Methanol is emerging as a practical near-term solution for the shipping industry's decarbonization efforts, with over 360 methanol-powered ships either operating or on order at the end of 2024, Platts reported earlier.

Platts assessed Singapore delivered low-carbon methanol marine fuel $20/mt lower day over day at $1,000/mt on April 1 and Singapore MMF with a carbon intensity of <90gCO2e/MJ down $4/mt over the same period at $536/mt on April 1.

Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.