First methanol dual-fuel bunker ship to operate in Rotterdam

OCI and Unibridge are to deploy a dual-fuel methanol barge to deliver green methanol bunkers in the Port of Rotterdam.

The project involves the retrofit of an existing Unibarge barge Chicago with methanol dual fuel propulsion for charter to OCI. OCI intends to use the barge to offer its green methanol OCI HyFuels to shipping companies calling at Rotterdam.

Bashir Lebada, CEO of OCI Methanol, commented: OCI and Unibarge are among the first in the world to focus their decarbonization efforts on smaller vessels, creating what is currently a unique offering in Europe with this zero-emission, dual-use barge that they both operate and deliver our green methanol.

As Europe’s largest port, Rotterdam has already carried out methanol bunkering

Listen to an episode of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast on methanol as a marine fuel

Nico van Dooren, Director of New Business at the Port of Rotterdam, said: “Rotterdam became the first port in the world to offer ship-to-ship methanol bunkering in 2021 and this dual-fuel bunker barge will mark another important milestone on the way to zero-emission shipping.”

The ship is expected to be deployed in the port of Rotterdam and on inland waterways in the second half of 2024.

Source: News Network