1st marine biofuel delivery under Total, Hapag-Lloyd supply agreement completed in Singapore

Total Energies Marine Fuels kickstarted its first biofuel bunker term delivery for Hapag-Lloyd in Singapore, with the refueling of the Afif container ship with 2,000 metric tons of B24 biofuel Jan. 20. (Photo: Total Energies)

Total Energies Marine Fuels has successfully completed its first refueling of a Hapag-Lloyd container vessel in Singapore with sustainable marine biofuel, Total Energies announced Feb. 8.

The biofuel portion of the marine-fuel blend was biodiesel made from used cooking oil.

From left, Loh Wei, CEO, JPUT; Louise Tricoire, vice president, Total Energies Marine Fuels; and Lukas Gaus, director of global fuel purchasing with Hapag-Lloyd (Photo: Total Energies)

This inaugural bunker operation marks the start of a term supply agreement between the two companies, which commits Total Energies to provide very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) blended with 24 percent used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME) certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification system to Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet.

Based on a well-to-wake assessment, this B24 marine biofuel blend will reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 20 percent compared to conventional fuel oil.

As part of this milestone operation, Hapag-Lloyd’s 15,000 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container vessel, Afif, took on 2,000 metric tons of biofuel Jan. 20.

The ship-to-ship biofuel transfer was made possible with the services rendered by Jurong Port Universal Terminal Pte Ltd.

JPUT also took on 100 percent UCOME into its storage tanks for the first time, which further underscores the significance of this operation.

“We are very pleased with the cooperation with Total Energies for the supply of biofuel in Singapore,” said Jan Christensen, senior director of global fuel purchasing with Hapag-Lloyd. “This is another early step for Hapag-Lloyd on our decarbonization journey. In combination with other green fuels, biofuel will play an important role towards a carbon-free environment by 2045. Consistent supply of biofuel in Singapore will allow us to offer sustainable transportation solutions to our customers, thereby supporting them in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Louise Tricoire, vice president of Total Energies Marine Fuels, said, “We are excited to support Hapag-Lloyd’s decarbonization strategy with the development of this new supply chain for marine biofuels. It underlines both companies’ long-term collaboration to explore and develop initiatives that promote the introduction of clean, low-carbon alternative fuels. Importantly, this biofuel bunker term contract also ushers a new chapter for Total Energies Marine Fuels, as we build on our operational expertise gained from multiple biofuel bunker trials we have done in 2022, to provide a scalable solution of this lower-carbon marine fuel.”

Loh Wei, CEO of JPUT, added, “JPUT is excited to work with Total Energies Marine Fuels as our first customer for the bulk storage and delivery of biofuel bunkers in Singapore. As the largest independent petroleum storage terminal in Asia, JPUT has been working on several new initiatives on low-carbon fuels for the last two years. We are glad to be able to bring this UCOME initiative to the market in record time, thanks to the close collaboration with Total Energies. With this and other new initiatives focused on carbon reduction, clean fuels and sustainability, JPUT is well-positioned to be a leading clean and sustainable future-fuels storage provider, reinforcing Singapore’s status as the world’s leading bunkering hub.”