China completes its first methanol ship-to-ship bunkering operation

The Port of Shanghai  completed China’s first methanol ship-to-ship bunkering operation.

The country’s first operational methanol fuel bunkering vessel, the Haigang Zhiyuan, provided 504 tonnes of eco-friendly methanol to the Astrid Maersk, a large methanol-powered container vessel at Yangshan Port, part of the Port of Shanghai.

This groundbreaking operation not only represents the first methanol bunkering for a large container vessel in China but also establishes the Port of Shanghai as the nation’s primary hub equipped with simultaneous ship-to-ship methanol bunkering capabilities.

The methanol fuel bunkering ship is 139.98 meters long, 11.2 meters deep and 20.2 meters wide.

It is currently the largest methanol bunkering ship operating in the world and the first methanol bunkering ship put into operation in China.

The bunkering vessel can also refuel other ships while they load and unload containers, boosting port efficiency.