One of the world’s top ocean carriers HMM announced that it conducted a trial use of a sustainable marine biofuel on its 6,400 teu containership HMM Tacoma calling in Busan, South Korea.
The containership HMM Tacoma, operated in FIL service connecting Far East, India and Latin America, was refuelled with the biofuel blend during its bunkering at the Port of Busan.
This marine biofuel, supplied by GS Caltex, consists of 30% biodiesel derived from used cooking oil and 70% high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO), which HMM claims reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 24% compared to conventional fuels.
HMM said it plans to expand the use of biofuel gradually, reaching about 5-10% of annual fuel consumption.
An HMM official said, “We continue to find a way to go green, making meaningful progress toward a carbon-free future. To this end, we will seek to enhance our environmental competence and thereby be positioned as a top-rated carrier in responding to climate issues.”
Last April, HMM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GS Caltex to secure marine biofuels.
In 2021, HMM completed the first test voyage using biofuel on its 13,100 teu containership HMM Dream. HMM used a 20% biofuel blend at the time based on very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).
In February this year, HMM signed newbuilding contracts for nine 9,000 teu methanol-powered vessels and, last April, reinforced the partnership with Lotte Fine Chemical to explore feasible solutions to the ammonia supply chain.
The company is also preparing operational tests of an onboard carbon capture system for its containership.
