‘Historic first’ for Port of Savannah as Stena Provident completes methanol bunkering

The U.S. Port of Savannah has witnessed its first-ever methanol bunkering completed by Stena Provident, one of six methanol-fueled tankers commissioned through the partnership between Proman and Stena Bulk.

In the “historic first for the port”, Stena Provident, which is time-chartered by Bahri Chemicals, loaded almost 1,000 MT of methanol at Colonial Terminals’ Lathrop 2 facility on February 29, 2024.

The landmark represents another step forward for methanol as a marine fuel, Proman said, pointing out that 2023 saw a record number of orders for methanol-fuelled vessels, as its benefits as a cleaner burning fuel were further understood. According to DNV, the number of methanol-fueled ships in operation will more than double this year, with over 250 such ships in operation by the end of 2026.

Stena Provident was officially named at a ceremony hosted at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China in November 2023 alongside the Stena Progressive. In January 2024, Proman announced a five-year time-chartering agreement for both 49,900 DWT tankers with Bahri Chemicals.

The ships will consume 12,000 tonnes of methanol annually, which according to Proman Stena Bulk, would result in reduced NOx emissions by 80%, the virtual elimination of SOx and Particulate Matter (PM), and a CO2 emissions reduction of 15% on a tank-to-wake basis compared to conventional marine fuels.

Anita Gajadhar, Executive Director of Marketing and Logistics at Proman, said: “Savannah is a significant port and completing the first ever methanol bunkering here underlines the growing demand for methanol as a marine fuel, and the increasing industry acceptance of its role on the pathway to achieving a lower-emission future for the shipping sector.

“Our fleet of methanol fuelled vessels have been in operation around the world for over 20 months and we are proud to be enabling others to gain valuable operational experience of using methanol as a marine fuel by time chartering Stena Provident and other ships in the fleet. The bunkering was made possible thanks to the collaboration with Bahri Chemicals and Colonial Terminals, and I am sure it marks the first of many methanol refuellings at the port.”

Terence Collins, Director Chartering at Bahri Chemicals, added: “We’d like to applaud our partners at Proman and Colonial Terminals for their expert handling of the inaugural methanol bunkering procedure in Savannah. We are quite sure this will be the first of many smooth and successful operations at the terminal not only for us, but for many other operators.”