Norway-headed roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping and vehicle logistics major Wallenius Wilhelmsen ASA has announced that it has bunkered a HSFO-biofuel blend in South Korea as part of a unique trial in collaboration with GS Caltex Corporation (GS Caltex) , one of the major fuel suppliers in the region.
A drop-in fuel that can be used in existing engines without any modification or tank cleaning, “HSFO-biofuel” is a conventional marine high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) with a 30 percent blend of used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME).
The number of suppliers worldwide offering this particular fuel is currently very limited, and the issue is compounded by the general lack of demand for marine biofuel blending in Korea.
Despite the growing demand and supply of biofuels around the world, the preparation of biofuels in Korean ports has been somewhat slow. As Korea is one of our major bunkering ports, a stable biofuel supply is essential to secure flexibility of tonnage allocation, so I am pleased to have a B30 HSFO trial with GS Caltex, one of Korea’s major fuel suppliers, and I hope close cooperation will continue in the future, said Jang Hongseok, Manager Energy Sourcing, Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
In a collaboration between GS Caltex and Wallenius Wilhelmsen, supply will be limited in Korea until the rules and regulations for biofuels are finalized by the authorities.
GS Caltex has paved the way for developing Bio-Marine Fuels in Korea, and we expect this B30 Bio-Marine Fuel (HSFO) trial with Wallenius Wilhelmsen will be a meaningful step for scrubber installed vessels of global shipping companies to reduce their carbon emissions when calling Korean ports. We hope to expand the relationship with Wallenius Wilhelmsen and support it as a carbon reduction solution partner in Korea, said Cha Hyungmin, Team Leader of GS Caltex Biofuel.
Assessing biofuel blends in Asia
In the meantime, Wallenius Wilhelmsen is currently assessing the viability of both HSFO-biofuel blends and VLSFO-biofuel blends in the Asia region as part of its global deep-sea trade decarbonization strategy.
Customers are increasingly looking to reduce their Scope 3 carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by utilizing biofuel. In response, Wallenius Wilhelmsen has pioneered a new Reduced Carbon Freight Service and will issue declarations, verified by a third-party accreditor of reduced CO2 emissions to customers who have purchased the new offer.
Customers using the Reduced Carbon Freight Service will typically be able to reduce their Scope 3 CO2/GHG emissions in their supply chains, by approximately 20-25 percent using a B30 biofuel blend compared with VLSFO/HSFO on a fuel lifecycle.
