1 February 2023 (Lloyd's List) - THE ports of Rotterdam and Gothenburg are preparing for regular methanol bunkering operations this year, but a lack of sufficient demand and high prices could see this delayed for a further 12 months. Both ports have hosted methanol bunkering operations in the past year after mostly completing preparations to safely meet refuelling needs of a growing dual-fuel fleet. There were two methanol bunkering operations in Rotterdam for a total of 1,500 tonnes in 2022, compared with just 250 tonnes in 2021, when the first such fuel was supplied, according to the port authority. Stena Line and Methanex operated the first ship-to-ship grey methanol refuelling on a ferry last week at the port of Gothenburg. “We want to establish the port of Gothenburg as the primary bunkering hub for alternative marine fuels in northern Europe. Today we are one step closer to that goal and we are ready to receive more methanol vessels,” said Christoffer Lillhage, senior business development manager for energy at Gothenburg. Methanol bunkering is more likely to become a regular feature in ports next year because of the relatively small fleet of methanol dual-fuelled vessels. There are 24 methanol dual-fuelled vessels in operation and a further 58 on order. However, only six are due for delivery in 2023 followed by 26 next year, according to DNV Alternative Fuels Insight. There was some pushback against methanol last year because of concerns around availability, but bunker suppliers will enter the market once there is demand, said Methanol Institute chief operating officer Chris Chatterton. Existing conventional marine fuel infrastructure can be used for methanol bunkering, as supply barges only require slight tweaks to be converted, according to market participants. Mr Chatterton said the bunkering operation at the port of Gothenburg was remarkable as it involved a tanker rather than a barge, adding that using ship-to-ship bunkering with larger tankers can help increase the volume supplied. Changes to the existing infrastructure to bunker with methanol is relatively small, Cargill Ocean Transportation president Jan Dieleman told Lloyd’s List. Bunkering methanol with a barge that normally refuels marine gasoil is relatively simple and cleaning that barge would only take a couple of days to make it ready for methanol refuelling, a spokesperson from Rotterdam-based barge operator VT told Lloyd’s List. Cargill recently ordered two methanol dual-fuelled bulk carriers, marking the first such order from its segment. CMA CGM ordered 12 methanol-fuelled boxships this week, adding to the large number of orders from the containership segment, including Maersk, which has 19 such units in the pipeline. Pricing can be one of the main hurdles against the uptake of methanol as an alternative fuel, as high prices may incentivise companies that operate dual-fuel vessels to continue bunkering with fuel oil for the foreseeable future. Energy price reporting agency Argus Media assessed grey methanol prices at $773 per tonne on January 26 in Rotterdam, compared with 0.5% sulphur fuel oil at $605 per tonne. Another concern around methanol as an alternative fuel is regarding its carbon intensity, as most bunkering in 2023 will likely be for grey methanol derived from natural gas or coal production. There is very little production in most parts of the world for green methanol produced from renewable sources. Today, there is around 98m tonnes of grey methanol production globally, according to the Methanol Institute. By 2027 it expects as many as 80 projects to come online producing renewable methanol, equivalent to more than 8m tonnes per annum.