Odfjell launches 1st operational green-shipping corridor between Brazil, Europe

Bow Leopard, one of the green-corridor chemical tankers. (Photo: Odfjell)

Odfjell announced Dec. 15 that its chemical tankers are now sailing the 5,000-nautical-mile route between Brazil and Europe with substantially lower emissions.

The corridor will operate 12 to 15 voyages per year, each lasting around 40 days.

The company has established an offtake of B24 sustainable biofuel blend in Rio Grande to secure long-term fuel availability.

The Ports of Antwerp-Bruges, Rotterdam and Rio Grande are working together with Odfjell’s team to advance the green corridor through increased efficiency and optimized port-stay processes. 

“We do this to demonstrate that certified fuel, technology and infrastructure are already available,” said Odfjell CEO Harald Fotland. “Through this, we show that sustainable biofuel is a viable option for deep-sea shipping today.”

Fotland emphasized that this is not a one-off demonstration but a long-term commitment.

“With this corridor, we integrate greener fuel as a new pillar in our decarbonization strategy,” he said. “We activate the entire value chain to find ways to decarbonize our operations, and we are encouraged that key stakeholders are joining us in this groundbreaking initiative.”

Odfjell said it has taken independent action, self-funding the project and moving ahead without subsidies.

“By covering the additional cost ourselves, we eliminate the financial element and move directly into operational implementation,” Fotland said. “It may not be a perfect corridor yet, but a solid start. Its success depends on collaboration across the value chain, and we are committed to developing it further together with relevant stakeholders.”

This includes collaboration with ports to increase efficiency, with customers to maximize capacity utilization, and with fuel providers to increase the influx of green fuels.

In Brazil, the currently available sustainable biofuel quality is the so-called certified B24—a blend of 24 percent renewable biodiesel derived from waste and 76 percent very-low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).

Introducing biofuel marks another step in Odfjell’s decade-long work to reduce emissions, the company said.

“We have already improved our carbon intensity by more than 54 percent compared to the 2008 benchmark, achieved through a wide range of technical and operational measures,” Odfjell stated.

The initiative aligns with the International Maritime Organization’s 2030 targets and the EU’s Fit for 55 ambitions, and it builds on the 2024 Norway-Brazil memorandum of understanding to establish a green, transatlantic shipping corridor.

“We hope to inspire broader industry action and welcome continued collaboration with regulators, ports, producers, other ship operators and customers to accelerate the transition to low-emission maritime transport,” Fotland said.

Anders Bjelland Eriksen, the Norwegian minister of climate and environment, added, “We congratulate Odfjell on taking the lead and demonstrating what is possible when business and public authorities cooperate across national borders to reduce emissions. Green-shipping corridors over long distances are still in their early stages, and this therefore represents an important first step on the path toward zero emissions. The ocean is the link in trade between Brazil and Norway. This new green-shipping corridor is the result of Norway’s cooperation with Brazil on more climate-friendly shipping. We will continue this work with the aim that more vessels can gradually adopt a wider range of low- and zero-emission fuels.”

Knut Arild Hareide, CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, is encouraged by the launch.

“That a deep-sea shipping company like Odfjell has succeeded in establishing a regular corridor between Brazil and Europe powered by certified biofuel is both highly encouraging and an important step toward our shared goal of decarbonizing global shipping by 2050,” Hareide said. “Shipping accounts for roughly 3 percent of global, human-made greenhouse-gas emissions, and meeting the ambitious climate targets the industry has set for itself will require close collaboration across the entire maritime value chain. This initiative is an excellent example of how collaboration between ports, fuel producers and shipping companies can deliver tangible results that move us forward in the green transition.”

He is echoed by Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, DNV’s CEO for maritime, who said, “Congratulations to Odfjell and partners on launching the first Brazil–Europe green corridor. This is exactly the kind of practical decarbonization initiative needed to accelerate learning, send strong demand signals and enable scalable supply of lower‑emission fuels. As highlighted in DNV’s maritime forecast to 2050, biofuels are a pragmatic deep‑sea option, especially when backed by robust certification and chain‑of‑custody models. This green corridor will show how this works in action while demonstrating how value‑chain collaboration can speed the transition and help meet ambitious goals.”