Methanex and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) have completed the first-ever net-zero voyage fuelled by bio-methanol. The dual-fuel tanker Cajun Sun sailed from Geismar in the US to Antwerp in Belgium.
The Cajun Sun is operated by Methanex’s subsidiary Waterfront Shipping and chartered from MOL. It left Geismar on 17 January and arrived in Antwerp on 4 February.
By blending ISCC-certified bio-methanol that has negative carbon intensity with natural gas-based methanol, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis were achieved for the eighteen-day trans-Atlantic voyage. This innovative fuel solution offers shipping companies the ability to achieve net-zero carbon emissions today, supporting the industry’s transition to a low-carbon future.
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‘We’re proud to bring the marine industry a tangible solution to transition towards net-zero emissions through our blended methanol product using bio-methanol produced from renewable natural gas at our facility in Geismar,’ says Mark Allard, Methanex’s senior vice president, Low Carbon Solutions. ‘As the world’s largest methanol producer, we are establishing a network of relationships with leading renewable natural gas suppliers and assessing other pathways, including carbon capture and storage and e-methanol, to provide solutions for the marine industry and other customers.’
The use of methanol as an alternative marine fuel was pioneered by Waterfront Shipping in 2016 when Methanex, Waterfront Shipping and MOL, in conjunction with other key partners, jointly built the world’s first ocean-going methanol dual-fuel tanker, the Taranaki Sun.
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