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ISSUE 47
ISSUE 47E 47
ISSU E 47 PAGE 18
FEATURE

ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING Captain Daknashamoorthy Ganasen, Senior Director
NTU and Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) jointly (Operations & Marine Services) at MPA, notes.
published in April a report entitled “Alternative “The key barriers would be capital expenditure for
Fuels for International Shipping”, which outlines infrastructure, and also the maturity of the network
how companies can leverage alternative fuels to of ports that can provide LNG bunkers,” observes
power their vessels, enabling them to meet IMO’s Capt Daknashamoorthy. Nonetheless, he believes
2050 target. that LNG is a tried-and-tested solution, and presently
The report, completed by the Maritime Energy the only viable scalable solution in light of the need
& Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence, to reduce pollutants such as SO and NO , as well as
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assessed four alternative fuels from diff erent sources, greenhouse gas emissions.
including fossils, biomass, and non-bio renewable To initiate and enhance the large-scale adoption
energy-based alternative fuels. These include LNG, of LNG, MPA has strategically aligned with LNG
methanol, biodiesel, and hydrogen. The assessment suppliers, infrastructure providers, and the maritime
covers the technological, environmental, and community to push ahead with Singapore’s LNG

economic considerations in adopting these fuels, as ambitions. Among its efforts is the co-funding of two
well as the various technologies and infrastructure LNG bunker vessels — one each by Pavilion Gas
required to process and store them. The study also and FueLNG — to the tune of S$3 million per vessel.
provides short-, medium-, and long-term alternative These vessels are essential in supplying LNG bunkers
fuel measures for shipping companies to meet the via a ship-to-ship model rather than the traditional
IMO GHG emission reduction targets. truck-to-ship model.
Heartened that the maritime industry is striving As a result, Singapore was fi rst to perform
to be part of the solution to combat climate change, ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in Asia when Pavilion
Dr Sanjay C Kuttan, Executive Director of SMI, says, Energy conducted the process for a dual-fuel semi-
“We hope that this report will help the maritime submersible vessel at Sembcorp Marine’s shipyard
ecosystem align with the adoption of the most in May 2019. “The ship-to-ship model allows for
effective decarbonisation pathway(s) that will justify signifi cantly larger volumes to be transferred, and

the expected large infrastructure investment.” is required for bunkering ocean-going vessels,”
explains Capt Daknashamoorthy. “Its importance
PROMOTING LNG BUNKERING IN SINGAPORE is underscored by the fact that the supply volumes

While LNG offers a pathway to meet IMO’s 2050 and speed are suited to ocean-going vessels.
emission targets, there are signifi cant barriers in Furthermore, the ability of LNG bunker vessels,
preventing the breakthrough of the use of LNG, as which carry out ship-to-ship bunkering, allows it the