Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) subsidiary MOL Chemical Tankers (MOLCT) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with commodity trading company Trafigura and its vessel fuel supply joint-venture company TFG Marine, to carry out a joint study on the full-scale supply of biodiesel fuel (BDF) for MOLCT-operated vessels in bunkering ports around the world.
The aim of the study is to establish a global supply of BDF for MOLCT’s operated fleet. The companies have conducted a sea trial using TFG Marine-supplied BDF on the MOLCT-operated chemical tanker Niseko Galaxy. About 200t of BDF was bunkered in the Port of Rotterdam in early March, with the sea trial completing as the vessel reached its destination off the US Gulf Coast.
TFG Marine’s BDF supplied for the sea trial required no modifications to the vessel’s diesel engine. The use of BDF is expected to achieve a 25% to 30% reduction in CO2 emissions on a mix of 30% BDF and 70% conventional HFO.
