X-Press Feeders, Global Energy Trading Pte Ltd (GET), and PSA Singapore (PSA) have successfully completed the first simultaneous methanol bunkering and cargo operation (SIMOPS) in Singapore on 27 May 2024.

The SIMOPS was conducted at the new Tuas Port with the support of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), together with various government agencies and local research institutions. The use of the mass flow metering (MFM) system for methanol, together with the use of digital bunkering, was also trialled during the SIMOPS. This follows the inaugural ship-to-containership methanol bunkering for the Laura Maersk in July 2023, and the successful ship-to-ship methanol bunkering of close to 1,340 metric tonnes of blended methanol for the Stena Prosperous on 24 May 2024.

A X-Press Feeder container vessel on her maiden voyage from Asia to Europe was successfully refuelled with approximately 300 metric tonnes (MT) of bio-methanol by GET, a MPA-licensed bunker supplier, using MT KARA, a dedicated IMO type II chemical bunker tanker classified by Bureau Veritas and operated by Stellar Shipmanagement Services.

The methanol fuel was supplied simultaneously while completing container moves, which is the preferred mode of operation for container vessels to enhance operational efficiency. The cargo operation was carried out with the use of PSA’s double trolley quay cranes and automated guided vehicles at Tuas Port.

The SIMOPS was completed within one hour. With these operations, the Port of Singapore is ready for commercial scale operations for shore-to-ship, ship-to-ship, and simultaneous operations for methanol, and the same methodology is being followed for other new maritime fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen.

The ISCC-certified bio-methanol used for the SIMOPS was produced by OCI Global, a world-leading green methanol producer, and supplied via GET, a ISCC-certified supplier. The fuel was lifted at Vopak Penjuru Terminal, Singapore, which is a ISCC-certified storage facility for biofuels and methanol.