Singapore supplies 5,000 tonnes of bioethanol to Maersk container ship

Singapore completed its first ethanol bunkering operation on 17 October. Golden Island supplied ISCC-certified bioethanol to the dual-fuel container vessel Maersk Halifax from the chemical tanker Golden Centaurus. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore described it as the largest single ethanol bunkering operation globally to date.

Fuel transfer used a mass flow meter and took place alongside cargo operations. The authority says the findings will help assess whether Singapore’s existing methanol bunkering reference and metering systems can be adapted for ethanol.

Participants conducted hazard studies and crew training before the operation. Ethanol use in methanol-capable engines requires necessary modifications; this announcement does not establish a fleet-wide conversion or quantify emissions savings. For containerised supply chains, it is a fuel-handling milestone rather than an increase in cargo capacity.