The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Ulsan Port Authority announced a world first with the successful completion of ship-to-ship (STS) green methanol supply[1] to a very large container ship (16k) at Ulsan Port, South Korea.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries established the relevant institutional foundation, including the ‘Guidelines for Approval of Self-Safety Management Plan for Methanol Supply’, and accumulated know-how through two methanol supply demonstrations[2] with Ulsan Port Authority in July and November last year. In addition, as competition among global ports for the methanol fuel market is intensifying, the success of this demonstration[3] is significant.

It is expected that this will not only enable Korean ports to further consolidate their position in the world as a sustainable marine fueling location, but will also promote the growth of Korea’s sustainable marine fueling industry in the future.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Ulsan Port Authority will continue to upgrade related systems, such as establishing standard operating procedures for the supply of methanol, and will also continue to work with the private sector to secure the economics of sustainable marine fuel supply.

“Competition among international ports to preempt the market by building ports that supply sustainable marine fuel is accelerating,” said Kang Do-Hyung, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries. “Under the goal of achieving net-zero by 2050 in the global shipping sector, we will make all-out efforts to strengthen competitiveness so that Korea can lead the global trend of switching to sustainable fuels.”

Kim Jae-gyun, the president of Ulsan Port Authority, commented “Following the success of the world’s first green methanol PTS bunkering for container ships in July last year, Ulsan Port has succeeded in green methanol STS bunkering for a very large container ship.” He further expressed, “We will do our best to proactively respond to the paradigm shift in ship fuel so that Ulsan Port can be reborn as a hub port for sustainable marine fuel supply.”