Yangshan Deepwater Port successfully implemented methanol “ship-to-ship” fueling dry trial operation
At 9 a.m. on February 8, under remote monitoring by the Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Administration Ship Traffic Management Center and on-site tugboat escort, the "Haigang Zhiyuan", China's first operational methanol bunkering ship, safely berthed at the world's first large-scale methanol-powered ship. On the outside of the container ship "Annie Maersk", after nearly 10 hours, the refueling dry test operation was successfully completed.
The dry test operation did not actually add methanol, but just went through the process completely, but it also means that it is one step closer to the first "ship-to-ship" methanol filling in Shanghai Port.
According to Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Bureau staff, green methanol is favored by the international shipping market due to its technical advantages in decarbonization and emission reduction and mature ship-end application technology. Currently, there are more than 200 methanol-powered ships in operation and under construction around the world. At the same time, many important international ports, including Shanghai Port, are actively striving to become a global marine methanol fuel bunkering center.
In March 2023, SIPG and Maersk Line signed a strategic cooperation memorandum on the Shanghai Port ship methanol fuel project to jointly promote Shanghai Port to become the world's first commercial green methanol fueling point and regional green methanol fuel fueling center.
"Anne Maersk" is the world's first large-scale methanol-powered container ship, with a total length of 350.6 meters, a width of 53.5 meters, a depth of 33.2 meters, and a maximum load capacity of over 16,000 TEUs. This ship is also the first of Maersk Line’s 18 large-scale methanol-powered container ships to be put into operation. This series of ships will be delivered gradually from 2024 to 2025.
The "Haigang Zhiyuan" ship is not only the largest methanol bunkering ship in operation in the world, but also the first methanol bunkering ship in operation in China. The ship has a total length of 139.98 meters, a molded depth of 11.2 meters, and a molded width of 20.2 meters. The ship has a total of 12 cargo holds with a total capacity of 16,000 cubic meters. It can provide ship-to-ship bunkering services for international sailing ships using methanol-powered fuel and support simultaneous loading and unloading of containers. It can greatly save the turnaround time of international liners at the port and provide shipping services. Enterprises win environmental and economic benefits.
However, the challenge of filling methanol is not small, because methanol itself is a dangerous chemical with a low flash point. When encountering fire sources or high temperature conditions during the filling process, it can easily cause fire or explosion accidents. At the same time, methanol is biologically toxic. Ingestion through the digestive tract, respiratory tract or skin will cause toxic reactions and damage the human central nervous system and vision. In addition, methanol is a Class Y toxic liquid substance that is easily soluble in water. Once it leaks, it cannot be recycled and will cause pollution to the environment. The above factors result in high safety requirements for the navigation and operation of methanol bunkering ships. Therefore, the safety and reliability of the entire filling process must be verified in advance.
Industry insiders believe that the smooth implementation of this dry trial operation will lay a solid foundation for accelerating the successful implementation of Shanghai Port's first "ship-to-ship" methanol bunkering, help enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of Shanghai Port, and provide a solid foundation for the Shanghai International Shipping Center. Contribute actively to upgrading the country’s shipping industry and building a container hub port that radiates around the world.
