Global resources company BHP, German shipping company Oldendorff Carriers and biofuels company GoodFuels, with the support of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, have successfully completed the first marine biofuel trial involving an ocean-going vessel bunkered in Singapore, a joint statement said.

"This trial marks the start of a process for GoodFuels of facilitating more structural supply of sustainable marine biofuels in Singapore, in a commercial, operational and technically feasible manner,” Isabel Welten, chief commercial officer at GoodFuels, said in a statement April 15.

Oldendorff Carriers chose one of their modern Kamsarmaxes -- Kira Oldendorff -- chartered to BHP, for the trial as appropriate modifications to the vessel were easily carried out to burn the biofuel blend efficiently, and monitoring instruments were installed to capture the trial data as accurately as possible, it said.

As part of the trial, which was carried out on April 4, the 2020-built 81,290 dwt dry bulk carrier was refueled with “drop-in” advanced biofuel blended with conventional fossil fuels, it said.

The key objectives of the biofuel bunkering trial include understanding the behavior of the fuel such as emissions, assessing engine and vessel operational performance during the trial, as well as exploring the technical and commercial merits and challenges of biofuels as a marine fuel.

The trial will also enable the development of an informed strategy on the structural supply and use of biofuels to support BHP’s key shipping routes, it added.

These objectives are in line with BHP’s strategy to assess biofuels as a potential low-carbon fuel of the future, which is an important step in enabling BHP to establish pathways for meeting one of its Scope 3 greenhouse gas emission goals for 2030, which is to support 40% emissions intensity reduction of BHP-chartered shipping of its products.

The advanced biofuel, supplied by GoodFuels, reduces CO2 emissions by 80%-90% well-to-exhaust compared with HFO/VLSFO, and uses sustainable waste and residue streams as feedstock, the statement said.

This comes at a time, when the maritime industry is focusing on shipping's decarbonization objectives after a fairly smooth transition to the International Maritime Organization's global low sulfur mandate.

In April 2018, the IMO laid out its strategy on greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to cut the shipping industry's total GHG emissions by at least 50% from 2008 levels by 2050, and reduce CO2 emissions per transport work by at least 40% by 2030.

In November 2020, the IMO's marine environment protection committee strengthened the Energy Efficiency Design Index, or EEDI, Phase 3 requirements.

Singapore green initiatives

On Feb. 10, Singapore unveiled its Singapore Green Plan 2030, a nation-wide movement that targets, over the next 10 years, to strengthen Singapore's commitments under the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement.

The Green Plan has five key pillars of which Energy Reset -- to use cleaner energy and increase energy efficiency to lower carbon footprint -- is one.

But the city-port has also been at the fore of adopting other green initiatives.

The MPA recently partnered with other players in a joint development project --The Castor Initiative -- for the development of an ammonia-fueled tanker.

This consortium, which comprises, MISC Berhad, Lloyd’s Register, Samsung Heavy Industries, Energy Solutions and Yara International -- will tap on MPA’s experience as a bunkering hub and flag state to gather insights on safety issues and ammonia bunkering procedures, and gain access to research capabilities in Singapore, the group said in February.

Singapore has been developing LNG bunkering capabilities under the LNG bunkering pilot program. It has also partnered port administrations to establish a global network of LNG bunker-ready ports, co-funded the construction of LNG-fueled vessels, and continue to promote LNG as a cleaner, interim fuel.

In 2020, the MPA said it was seeking proposals for the electrification of harborcrafts in the Port of Singapore as shipping moves to a low carbon future.

A total S$9 million ($6.7 million) from the Maritime GreenFuture Fund will be set aside to co-fund such projects, the MPA said at the time.