OCI Global to supply green methanol to X-Press Feeders

This is a milestone agreement with OCI, the world’s largest producer of green methanol and X-Press Feeders, the largest common feeder operator. The feeder industry plays an important role in supporting the ultimate carrier.

Earlier this year, OCI announced its partnership with Unibarge to retrofit the first methanol-powered bunker barge which will be deployed at the Port of Rotterdam. OCI will work with Unibarge to fuel XPress Feeders’ ships, ensuring the decarbonisation of another link in the supply chain.

OCI chief executive Bashir Lebada said, “We need to find ways to decarbonise every link in the chain. Through our new partnership with X-Press Feeders to supply them with OCI Hyfuels green methanol, and our existing collaboration with Unibarge to deliver the fuel via its green methanol bunker barge, we are creating an end-to-end decarbonisation solution for the maritime industry in Europe.” 

There are only 26 active methanol dual-fuel vessels globally, but the orderbook is poised to grow to more than 100 by 2025. X-Press Feeders is due to receive the first of 14 dual-fuel methanol vessels in Q2 2024.

X-Press Feeders chief executive Shmuel Yoskovitz said advanced procurement of green methanol will allow it to offer a green corridor by mid-2024. 

“This is one more step to prove X-Press Feeders’ commitment to deliver tangible contributions to a more sustainable shipping industry. We continue to look out for future opportunities and partnerships to accelerate decarbonisation in the feeder business, to become the green feeder carrier of choice,” he said.

The announcement between OCI and X-Press Feeders comes in the same month IMO updated the industry’s decarbonisation targets with the revised strategy for the industry to reach net zero ‘by or around 2050’.

Last week, OCI was part of Singapore’s first methanol bunkering operation when a Maersk vessel took on 300 tonnes of the fuel at the Raffles Reserved Anchorage. AP Moller-Maersk has larger plans to adopt newer fuels. 

The feeder ship that took on methanol in Singapore is only the first of 25 methanol-powered dual-fuel box ships with capacities raging up to 16,000-TEU ordered by Maersk. All of them will be in service by 2027 and Maersk hopes to move 25% of its cargo by green fuels by 2030. Readers can read more about Maersk’s plans here.