ABS Publishes Advisory on Methanol Bunkering

Classification society ABS has published what it says is the industry's first advisory on methanol bunkering as the cleaner-burning fuel continues to gain interest among shipowners seeking to reduce their environmental footprint.

A key component of the methanol value chain and the overall scalability of the fuel will be the ability to bunker methanol, either by truck-to-ship, ship-to-ship or land storage tank/terminal-to-ship, ABS said.

The new ABS Methanol Bunkering: Technical and Operational Advisory provides the maritime industry with insight into the challenges of bunkering methanol and strategies to address them.

“As the class provider for the world’s largest methanol-fueled vessel and with numerous methanol-based projects underway, ABS has unrivalled insight into the adoption of methanol as a marine fuel. Numbers of methanol fueled vessels are growing rapidly and ABS is focused on supporting its safe adoption by the industry, which is why we are proud to offer this publication to support owners, operators and yards with bunkering challenges related to operations, design and training,” said John McDonald, ABS president and COO.

Available here for free download, the publication provides guidance regarding the technical and operational challenges of the supplier to the receiving vessel including critical design issues, regulatory compliance, safe practices, areas of operational processes to consider, training and safety aspects.