Fratelli Cosulich Group orders its first methanol dual-fueled bunker tanker backed by a long-term time-charter to TFG Marine
Fratelli Cosulich Group is proud to announce that on December 15, the Company placed an order for its first methanol dual-fueled chemical bunker tanker. The 7,990 dwt IMO Type II chemical vessel will be built at Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipbuilding Co., Ltd in China. With a capacity of over 8,000 m3, its cargo tanks will be coated to enable carrying both green methanol and biofuels.
The vessel will be delivered in the last quarter of 2025 and will be located at the Port of Singapore under a fixed-rate time charter contract with global commodities trader Trafigura. It will be deployed to deliver marine fuels for TFG Marine, Trafigura's international marine fuel supply and procurement joint venture with shipowning companies Frontline Ltd and Golden Ocean Group Ltd. Fratelli Cosulich Bunkers Singapore will oversee the technical management and operations of the vessel for TFG Marine. Green methanol has recently been gaining prominence as a future, viable marine fuel, as the global order book for methanol-fueled ships has been gaining ground and many shipping companies have included methanol in their decarbonisation strategy. The Port of Singapore is also undertaking necessary planning to ensure a steady supply of methanol from 2025 onwards in order to meet these future bunkering needs.
“We believe in a multi-fuel future and this is an additional important step by our Group in that direction, after having built two LNG bunker vessels. With this important investment, the Group wants to reaffirm its commitment to decarbonisation. We are also proud of strengthening our relationship with the Trafigura Group, a market leader in the global commodities industry,” states Guido Cardullo, Marine Energy Head of Business Development of Fratelli Cosulich Group.
“The vessel has been designed to our technical specifications, including stringent safety considerations, so that it can be continually powered by methanol. Delivery of the vessel in the last quarter of 2025 should coincide with growing demand for methanol as a bunker fuel from shipowners,” said Kenneth Dam, TFG Marine's Global Head of Bunkering. “Deploying a vessel powered by a renewable fuel such as green methanol also helps TFG Marine to meet its license requirement with and TFG's commitment to the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).”
The vessel will have twin fixed pitch propellers, each driven by an electrical motor via gear box, and three dual-fueled generator sets supplied by MAN Energy Solutions. An onboard battery storage system will optimize the use of the dual-fueled generators.