26 September 2023 (Lloyd's List) - CHINA Cosco Shipping’s bunker service provider launched two standards for methanol as marine fuel, in another step towards methanol’s wider adoption.

China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co, also known as Chimbusco, said the new standards for methanol fuel quality and bunkering are the first of their kind in China and fill a crucial gap in the industry.

Chimbusco general manager Qin Ling told a press conference in Beijing that the fuel quality standard has requirements for testing, inspection, packaging markings, transportation and storage.

The bunkering standard gives comprehensive guidance for the entire process, including risk assessment and safety inspections, added China Petroleum Circulation Association assistant secretary-general Zhang Lihong.

Chimbusco and the CPCA led the drafting of the two standards, joined by industry partners including the Methanol Institute and Canada-based methanol supplier Methanex last year. 

China’s shipping companies are showing increasing interest in adopting methanol as their preferred alternative fuel. 

A week before the launch of the standards, China’s four state-owned giants, including Cosco, Shanghai International Port Group, State Power Investment Corp, and China Certification & Inspection Group, signed an agreement to jointly establish China’s first all-inclusive green methanol industrial chain for marine fuel, with a focus on bio-methanol production in northeast China.

Cosco, one of the companies involved in the methanol supply project, ordered 12 methanol dual-fuel container ships in last October, with expected delivery between 2026 and 2028.