Repsol has completed the first bioethanol bunkering operation for a Maersk container vessel at the Port of Barcelona, supplying 2,800 tons of bioethanol to the 16,000 TEU Antonia Maersk.

The operation is among the first of its kind in the Mediterranean and marks another step in the industry’s exploration of alcohol-based marine fuels. The bunkering was carried out under commercial conditions using Bahía Candela, Repsol’s bunker vessel operated by Mureloil, which used its onboard battery system during the fuel transfer to eliminate local emissions.

The operation demonstrated that the infrastructure, logistics and supply chain required for large-scale deployment of alcohol-based marine fuels are already in place.

With this supply, we reaffirm our commitment to the decarbonization of maritime transport through solutions that are available today and ready to scale in the future

… said Juan Abascal, Repsol’s Executive Managing Director of Industrial Transformation and Circular Economy. 

The delivery follows successful ethanol trials on Laura Maersk, and represents the first ethanol trial on one of Maersk’s large dual-fuel methanol-enabled container vessels. 

Following the successful ethanol trials conducted on Laura Maersk, this latest bunkering of Antonia Maersk marks another important step in our efforts to explore scalable low-emission fuel solutions. As the first ethanol trial on one of our large dual-fuel vessels, with a capacity of 16,000 TEU, it allows us to deepen our understanding of ethanol’s operational potential at scale

… commented Emma Mazhari, Vice President Energy Markets at Maersk. 

Today, Maersk has 23 dual-fuel container vessels designed to operate on methanol; however, the company continues to explore ethanol as an alternative fuel for its methanol-enabled vessels. Laura Maersk has performed sailings on 100% ethanol as well as blends of ethanol and methanol. 

This operation demonstrates that the Port of Barcelona is ready to support the deployment of new low-carbon fuels at scale, as part of our Energy Transition Plan

… highlighted José Alberto Carbonell, President of the Port of Barcelona.