The first refueling of a domestic container ship with biofuel is completed at Zhoushan Port in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, on Oct 9. [Photo/WeChat account: zjzsrbs]
A refueling ship supplied approximately 325 metric tons of B24 biodiesel to a container ship at Mazhi Anchorage in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province on Oct 9, marking the first container ship biodiesel refueling operation in the Zhoushan port area.
The biodiesel refueling provides a tangible step towards greener and lower carbon emissions for traditional fuel-powered vessels, said Chen Jiating, deputy general manager of Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co.
Chen added that the use of LNG, methanol, biofuels, and other green and clean fuels is the trend of the shipping industry in the light of the "2023 Ship Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategy" announced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on July 7.
The B24 biofuel supplied, which is a mixture of 24 percent biodiesel and meets the ISO8217/2010 standard for fuel oil, reduces carbon emissions by about 20 percent. It is fully compatible with modern ship engines and can be used directly on existing ship types without the need for technical, safety, or design adjustments.
Bi Zhiwen, director of the Industrial Promotion Division of the Comprehensive Coordination Bureau of the Zhoushan Free Trade Zone Management Committee, said that authorities helped enterprises obtain guidance on the classification of export commodities for biofuel oil and entrusted Shanghai Maritime University to complete the evaluation and assessment of the safety supervision of biofuel oil refueling at sea, which broke through two major institutional bottlenecks.
Bi stated that Zhoushan will implement a policy on the blending and mixing of marine biofuels, and tackle the issue of local oil sources for new fuel oils.
On August 24, Zhoushan port completed the first LNG at-sea refueling of a bulk cargo ship in China. Following that successful biofuel refueling of a container ship while at sea anchorage, the port has now become the first port in China to provide green fuel refueling services for vessels at sea or in port.
