Proman and Stena take on methanol

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

METHANOL • SEVERAL OPTIONS ARE OPEN TO SHIPOWNERS LOOKING TO CURB EXHAUST EMISSIONS. A MOVE TO METHANOLFUELLED SHIPS IS BEING INVESTIGATED BY STENA BULK

In early October this year, Proman Shipping AG and Stena Bulk AB established a 50/50 joint venture, Proman Stena Bulk Ltd, with the aim of examining the viability of using methanol as a fuel for oceangoing tankers as part of a broader move to more sustainable operations.

Explaining the move, Anita Gajadhar, Proman’s managing director, said at the time: “This is an exciting step for Proman Shipping, which sees us not only partner with a world-leading shipping operator, but also invest in the use of more sustainable marine fuels without compromising on efficiency. We are proud to be partnering with Stena Bulk, who share our commitment to innovation and to be pioneering the use of methanol as a fuel of the future together.”

It did not take long for the partnership to make a move in the market; in mid-November Proman Stena Bulk announced it had finalised an agreement with Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) to build two state-of-theart IMOIIMeMAX methanol-ready 49,900 dwt vessels, with the first due for delivery at the beginning of 2022.

OF THE SAME MIND The new tankers will be based on Stena’s IMOIIMAX product/chemical tankers, a lengthy series of which was built by GSI between 2015 and 2018; over the past year, Stena Bulk and GSI have conducted extensive development work and towing tank tests.

The newly ordered vessels will be fitted with the latest generation of dual-fuel engines and run on methanol, which has a number of advantages over alternative fuels being considered as ways of meeting the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) latest provisions restricting sulphur emissions from ships – the so-called ‘IMO 2020’ rule. Methanol is available at more than 100 ports around the world and offers significant capital cost and safety advantages over LNG. Compared with regular marine fuel, methanol offers a more than 95 per cent reduction in emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter, and a 60 per cent reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.

“GSI have a proven track record with their 13 previous IMOIIMAX vessels for Stena Bulk, and we are very pleased to have reached this agreement with them to build our pioneering new methanol tankers,” says Proman Shipping CEO David Cassidy. “Methanol is a readily available liquid fuel that meets the strictest emissions criteria, and it has huge global potential as a proven substitute for conventional bunker fuels.”

“We from Stena Bulk are looking forward to being back in a well known shipyard to us, where we know that they will deliver what is expected: a high level of experience including care, innovation and performance,” adds Erik Hånell, president/CEO of Stena Bulk. “We are really looking forward to doing this with Proman, as a new high-calibre partner with similar values that we know will develop both ship design and some exciting new features in driving improved performance of the ships.”

On delivery, the two ships will go on long-term charter to Proman Shipping, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Proman Group, which specialises in the production, sale and distribution of products derived from natural gas, including methanol, ammonia, melamine and urea-ammoniumnitrate (UAN) solution. It has methanol production facilities in Trinidad & Tobago, Oman and the US; methanol marketing is conducted through a joint venture with Helm AG, Helm Proman Methanol. Proman Shipping was established in 2018 in order to expand the group’s global reach; it currently manages 12 timechartered vessels. www.proman.org www.stenabulk.com