Vehicles carrier M/V Torrens has become the first vessel operated by Norwegian shipping and logistics company Wallenius Wilhelmsen to bunker B30 high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) biofuel while calling Masan Port, South Korea.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen conducted the trial in collaboration with South Korean energy and chemical company GS Caltex Corporation.
As explained, being a drop-in fuel that can be used in existing engines without any modification or tank cleaning, HSFO biofuel is an HSFO blended with UCOME (bio feedstock). The number of suppliers worldwide offering this particular fuel is currently very limited, and the issue is compounded by the general lack of demand for marine biofuel blending in Korea.
“Despite the growing demand and supply of biofuels around the world, the preparation of biofuels in Korean ports has been somewhat slow,” Jang Hongseok , Manager Energy Sourcing, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, said.
As Korea is one of our major bunkering ports, stable biofuel supply is essential to secure flexibility of tonnage allocation, so I am pleased to have a B30 HSFO trial with GS Caltex, one of Korea’s major fuel suppliers, and I hope close cooperation will continue in the future.”
The supply will be limited in Korea until the rules and regulations for biofuels are finalized by the authorities, according to Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
“GS Caltex has paved the way for developing Bio-Marine Fuels in Korea, and we expect this B30 Bio-Marine Fuel (HSFO) trial with Wallenius Wilhelmsen will be a meaningful step for scrubber installed vessels of global shipping companies to reduce their carbon emissions when calling Korean ports. We hope to expand the relationship with Wallenius Wilhelmsen and support as a carbon reduction solution partner in Korea,” Cha Hyungmin , Team Leader of GS Caltex Biofuel team, commented.
In the meantime, Wallenius Wilhelmsen is currently assessing the viability of both HSFO-biofuel blends and very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) biofuel blends in the Asia region as part of its global deep-sea trade decarbonization strategy.
According to the company, its clients are increasingly looking to reduce their Scope 3 CO2 emissions by utilizing biofuel. In response, Wallenius Wilhelmsen has pioneered a new Reduced Carbon Freight Service and will issue declarations, verified by a third-party accreditor of reduced CO2 emissions to customers who have purchased the new offer. Customers using the Reduced Carbon Freight Service will typically be able to reduce their Scope 3 CO2/GHG emissions in their supply chains, by approximately 20-25% using B30 biofuel compared with VLSFO/HSFO on a fuel lifecycle.