TOTALENERGIES Marine Fuels has refuelled Hapag-Lloyd containership Afif with a UCOME-based marine biofuel – a first for the bunkering business.

The 15,000 TEU vessel took on 2000 metric tonnes of the biofuel – made from used cooking oil methyl ester – at Jurong Port Universal Terminal (JPUT) in Singapore on 20 January.

The inaugural bunker operation marks the start of a supply agreement between Hapag-Lloyd and TotalEnergies Marine Fuel.

Under the agreement, TotalEnergies has committed to provide very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) blended with 24% second-generation, waste-based and ISCC-certified UCOME to Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet.

TotalEnergies expects the B24 biofuel blend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 20% compared with conventional fuel oil.

The bunkering company said the ship-to-ship biofuel transfer was made possible by JPUT.

It said JPUT also took on 100% UCOME bio-component into their storage tanks for the first time.

Jan Christensen, senior director, global fuel purchasing of Hapag-Lloyd, said the supply of biofuel in Singapore is an early step in the shipping company’s decarbonisation journey.

“In combination with other green fuels, biofuel will play an important role towards a carbon-free environment by 2045,” Mr Christensen said.

“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.”

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels vice president Louise Tricoire said the new supply chain for marine biofuels would support Hapag-Lloyd’s decarbonisation strategy.

“It underlines both companies’ long-term collaboration to explore and develop initiatives that promote the introduction of clean, low-carbon alternative fuels,” Ms Tricoire said.

“Importantly, this biofuel bunker term contract also ushers a new chapter for TotalEnergies 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.”

And Jurong Port Universal Terminal CEO Loh Wei said TotalEnergies Marine Fuels is JPTU’s 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,” Mr Wei said.

“We are glad to be able to bring this UCOME initiative to the market in record time, thanks to the close collaboration with TotalEnergies.

“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 status as the world’s leading bunkering hub.”