Pacific Basin Partners with Towngas to Enhance Access to Green Methanol Marine Fuel
Hong Kong-based dry bulk vessel owner and operator Pacific Basin Shipping Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) to enhance its access to volumes of green methanol marine fuel.
As disclosed, the MoU establishes a framework for cooperation between the two companies for formalizing a supply agreement under which Towngas will supply Pacific Basin with green methanol certified under ISCC EU, ISCC PLUS, and/or other international standards required for the purpose of complying with global and regional maritime decarbonization regulations.
Pacific Basin said that green methanol as a marine fuel will become an “increasingly important” part of its fuel mix as the company grows its fleet of dual-fuel low-emission vessels and works toward lower-emission operations.
Moving Towards Sustainable Shipping
Martin Fruergaard, CEO of Pacific Basin, expressed his thoughts on the collaboration, stating: “Our collaboration with Towngas marks a significant step forward in our efforts to enhance our priority access to increasing and eventually very large volumes of green fuels that ships will need to comply with FuelEU Maritime and International Maritime Organization’s Global Fuel Standard.”
“Green methanol in particular will support our dual-fuel low-emission vessels (LEVs), which will enjoy the flexibility to switch between conventional fuel oil, sustainable biofuel and green methanol according to the prevailing economics, and the reward provision of IMO’s planned Global Fuel Standard should support the business case for early adoption of LEVs and zero- or near-zero emission fuels. Our arrangement with Towngas also represents a major milestone in our long-term plan for green fuels to make up 5% of our fuel mix by 2030 and for our fleet to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.”
Commitment to Decarbonization
Peter Wong Wai-yee, Managing Director of Towngas, emphasized Towngas’ commitment to decarbonization and sustainable fuel solutions for the global shipping industry. He stated: “The MOUs signed today with Pacific Basin represent a significant milestone in Towngas’ commitment to decarbonisation, advancing the provision of clean, sustainable fuel solutions for the global shipping industry. Towngas is set to expand its green methanol production capacity to meet the shipping sector’s rising demand. The annual capacity of our Inner Mongolia facility is projected to grow from 100,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes by the year-end. Furthermore, we plan to develop multiple green methanol production plants on the mainland, aiming for a combined annual capacity of one million tonnes.”
To note, Towngas has been actively working towards advancing the supply and distribution of green methanol as a marine fuel. The company previously partnered with Singapore’s Global Energy Trading and bunker service provider Chimbusco Pan Nation Petro-Chemical (CPN) to develop domestic and international green methanol marine fuel markets.