South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Ulsan Port Authority have announced what is believed to be a world first with the successful completion of ship-to-ship (STS) green methanol supply to a 16,000 TEU container ship at Ulsan Port.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries established the relevant institutional foundation, including the ‘Guidelines for Approval of Self-Safety Management Plan for Methanol Supply’, and accumulated know-how through two methanol supply demonstrations with Ulsan Port Authority in July and November 2023. In addition, as competition among global ports for the methanol fuel market is intensifying, the success of this demonstration is considered significant.
It is expected that this will not only enable Korean ports to further consolidate their position as a sustainable marine fuelling location, but will also promote the growth of Korea’s sustainable marine fuelling industry in the future. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Ulsan Port Authority will continue to upgrade related systems, such as establishing standard operating procedures for the supply of methanol, and will continue to work with the private sector to secure the economics of sustainable marine fuel supply.
Kang Do-Hyung, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries said: “Competition among international ports to pre-empt the market by building ports that supply sustainable marine fuel is accelerating. Under the goal of achieving net-zero by 2050 in the global shipping sector, we will make all-out efforts to strengthen competitiveness so that Korea can lead the global trend of switching to sustainable fuels.”
Kim Jae-Gyun, President Ulsan Port Authority, added: “Following the success of the world’s first green methanol PTS bunkering for container ships in July last year, Ulsan Port has succeeded in green methanol STS bunkering for a very large container ship. We will do our best to proactively respond to the paradigm shift in ship fuel so that Ulsan Port can be reborn as a hub port for sustainable marine fuel supply.”
Image: ‘Ane Maersk’ owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk receives green methanol fuel from bunker ship, ‘Golden Sunny Hana’ owned by Hana Marine at the Ulsan Port anchorage (source: Ulsan Port Authority, Navigate PR).
