Hamburg-based energy company Mabanaft has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with German cruise company TUI Cruises to supply green methanol in the future.
The cooperation between Mabanaft and TUI Cruises will begin with a methanol delivery for the Mein Schiff 7. By joining forces, Mabanaft and TUI Cruises want to contribute to making the cruise industry more climate friendly. With the commissioning of Mein Schiff 7 in 2024, TUI Cruises is taking into operation a cruise ship that can also run on methanol, or green methanol in perspective. This initiative creates the opportunity for the ship’s propulsion system decarbonisation. Over the next few years, TUI Cruises intends to add further dual-fuel methanol-ready cruise ships to its fleet in Germany.
The Mabanaft Group, among others supplier of transportation fuels and operator of tank terminals in Germany, Denmark and Hungary, intends to supplement its range of marine fuels with methanol and other hydrogen derivatives from renewable sources to help its customers speed up their defossilisation efforts. In order to supply TUI Cruises, among others, with methanol, Mabanaft is planning the necessary storage and bunkering infrastructure in Hamburg and potentially other ports.
Mabanaft says it is committed to develop and expand clean energy offerings to its shipping customers, both in Germany and worldwide. Volker Ebeling, Mabanaft SVP New Energy, Supply & Infrastructure said: “Green methanol is expected to play an immediate role in the decarbonisation of shipping – methanol dual-fuel-engines are readily available and existing fuelling infrastructure can be re-purposed to deliver methanol to our customers. From biofuels, to hydrogen, ammonia and methanol – we want to make all these transition options available to the shipping industry. For us, this agreement with TUI Cruises is an important step towards providing an integrated methanol fuel solution.”
Wybcke Meier, TUI Cruises CEO, said: “Climate-neutral cruises are a question of the appropriate technologies and long-term strategies. We have both. On the one hand, we are continuously equipping our fleets with innovative propulsion systems, on the other hand, we are securing their supply of alternative fuels – through cooperation with partners such as Mabanaft. This is how we will achieve our goals.”
As part of the MoU, Mabanaft is set to cover TUI Cruises’ methanol needs in Northern Germany – and potentially in other European ports in the future. The company intends to focus on a gradual transition to synthetic e-methanol.
TUI Cruises GmbH is a joint venture between TUI and the US cruise group Royal Caribbean Cruises, with a fleet of seven ships sailing under the Mein Schiff brand. Since the end of 2020, the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises brand, with a fleet of currently five ships, has been part of TUI Cruises.
Image: Tank terminal Hamburg, Blumensand (source Mabanaft, © Oiltanking Deutschland)
