Singapore has completed its first ethanol bunkering operation, loading 5,000 tonnes of bioethanol into a Maersk container ship at Pasir Panjang Terminal while cranes kept working cargo on the same vessel. The operation on Saturday (17 October) was the largest volume of ethanol bunkered in a single operation anywhere to date.
The receiving ship was Maersk Halifax, a Singapore-registered dual-fuel container vessel. The fuel came from M.T. Golden Centaurus, a Singapore-registered IMO Type II chemical tanker run by local supplier Golden Island. The bioethanol is certified under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system, which checks traceability and greenhouse gas cuts.
Fuelling during cargo work
The transfer ran as a simultaneous operation, known in the industry as SIMOPS, with container handling carrying on alongside. A mass flow meter measured the fuel as it went across, and the operation will show whether that metering suits ethanol.
Before the job, Maersk, Golden Island, PSA Singapore and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) held a hazard identification and operability workshop. Crews were trained to handle the fuel and its emergency responses, drawing on Singapore’s methanol bunkering experience.
Why methanol rules matter
Ethanol handles much like methanol and can run in methanol-capable engines with modifications. The International Maritime Organization already groups the two alcohols under one set of interim safety guidelines for ships.
MPA will use data from the operation to decide how TR 129, Singapore’s technical reference for methanol bunkering, could be adapted for ethanol. It will also test whether existing mass flow meter systems can be used for future ethanol deliveries.
“The findings will help us develop the standards and procedures needed for safe and efficient ethanol bunkering, as we continue to prepare Singapore for a multi-fuel future,” said MPA chief executive Ang Wee Keong.
A multi-fuel port
“At Maersk, we continue to pursue a multi-fuel strategy because we recognise that no single fuel pathway can decarbonise global shipping on its own,” said Emma Mazhari, head of energy markets at Maersk.
Golden Island’s crew built on lessons from methanol bunkering and delivered the load “safely and on time”, managing director Johnny Tan said.
“Safety remains our foremost priority, and this operation provides valuable insights into how ethanol bunkering can be safely integrated with container terminal operations,” said Nelson Quek, PSA International’s regional chief executive for Southeast Asia.
Golden Island will keep investing in people, vessels and know-how to supply lower-carbon fuels in the Port of Singapore.
