Lauritzen and Cargill roll the dice toward methanol-fuelled bulkers

Lauritzen Bulk has gone for methanol and biodiesel for a pair of 81,200 dwt bulk carriers it has ordered from Japanese shipyard Tsuneishi shipbuilding.

When delivered the vessels will be owned by a newly formed division of Lauritzen, Lauritzen NexGen Shipping, and on a long-term charter to commodity giant Cargill who will operate them for seven years.

This, said Lauritzen CEO Kristian Morch in the company’s announcement, is a way for the company to “participate actively in the decarbonization of the shipping industry.”  The partnership is facilitated by Copenhagen Commercial Platform (CCP), who will also be involved in operating and further developing the partnership between Cargill and Lauritzen.

Vessels running on methanol will be built with dual-fuel engines, and the methanol fuel will need a pilot fuel for combustion in the engine, the percentages of pilot fuel needed do vary depending on engine model and according to engine makers, the load of the vessel.

While methanol and biodiesel will still produce significant levels of CO2 emissions, the benefit for Cargill and Lauritzen is in the life cycle emissions accounting of the fuels. If the vessels can sail on green methanol, produced using green hydrogen (from renewable electricity) and captured CO2, and on biodiesel, sourced according to pending requirements for biofuels, then the companies will be able to claim carbon neutral emissions.

The key issue will be the availability of these fuels given the low volumes currently produced and the lack of availability globally. If green methanol, or biodiesel, are not available the vessels could run off blue or grey methanol, but could then be subject to a carbon penalty and higher bunker prices, or switch to standard marine diesels or gasoils.