Named in Rotterdam, Stena Promise was built at Guangzhou Shipyard International for the joint venture and will be operated by Proman Shipping
The 50,000-dwt vessel is the third built for the Proman Stena Bulk joint venture (JV) that has a dual-fuel engine capable of running on methanol fuel.
Proman Shipping and Stena Bulk agreed their 50-50- joint venture in 2019. Initially, the JV was for three long-term time-chartered vessels and later the JV extended the agreement to cover three additional Proman-owned vessels. In total, Proman Shipping operates four methanol-fuelled tankers, with two more due for delivery by 2024.
Proman Shipping parent company Proman specialises in natural gas-derived products including methanol, and actively promotes methanol’s use as a marine fuel.
"During its commercial operations, Stena Promise has already been operating full time on conventional methanol from natural gas. The vessel will use approximately 11,500 tonnes of methanol as fuel per year, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional marine fuels," a statement from the JV said.
Proman chief executive David Cassidy said, “Stena Promise is the third state-of-the-art methanol tanker we have brought to market with Stena Bulk, and the first fully Proman-owned vessel in our fleet. It is a very special vessel for us, and it is fantastic to be able to use its naming ceremony as a driver to convene with partners, friends and industry leaders in Rotterdam at a pivotal time for the shipping industry’s low-carbon transition. We need to ensure regulatory incentives and market-based measures continue to drive capital to projects which can deliver real, meaningful and immediate emissions reductions. And to do that, we need to work with partners across the entire industry and shipping value chain to make green shipping a reality.”
Stena Promise’s godmother Dr Hilary Cassidy gave the vessel a traditional champagne christening at the naming ceremony in Rotterdam. The Port is the largest methanol hub in north western Europe, and ship-to-ship bunkering has taken place at the port successfully multiple times, including for the first JV vessel Stena Pro Patria in August 2022.
There are more than 100 methanol-fuelled ships on order as of the end of March 2023, according to analysis from class society DNV. Container lines lead the way on orders, with dry bulk and tanker operators and cruise lines also placing orders.
Proman Stena Bulk’s IMOIIMeMax vessel series boast an Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) rating that surpasses IMO’s 2025 Phase 3 emissions reduction requirements by some 11%.
Proman Stena Bulk took delivery of Stena Promise in November 2022, and the JV says "all four of the vessels in the IMOIIMeMax series have demonstrated an unprecedentedly low EEDI value while running on methanol".
Stena Bulk president and chief executive Erik Hånell said, “The naming ceremony for Stena Promise is another step in our co-operation between Stena Bulk and Proman to prove the viability of methanol as a marine fuel. By gathering in Rotterdam – one of the industry’s most important bunkering hubs – we are once again underlining that methanol operation is technically feasible today. We are proud to continue working with our partners at Proman to advance our shared vision for methanol.”
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