Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) says it has shipped the ‘the world’s first bauxite cargo shipment using a Liquefied Natural Gas-fuelled vessel.
The aluminium’ producer reported that the bauxite shipment is onboard the Ubuntu Empathy, an LNG dual-fuelled vessel operated by Anglo American and chartered by EGA.
The vessel is one of Anglo American’s 10-strong chartered fleet of lower emission LNG dual-fuelled vessels, EGA also said.
The shipment, in a capesize ship, is carrying bauxite mined by EGA subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation to a customer in China. Bauxite is the ore from which aluminium is derived.
The company EGA predominantly uses capesize vessels to ship bauxite ore from the Republic of Guinea to the company’s alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi and to third-party customers around the world.
Last year, EGA exported some 14.1 million wet metric tonnes of bauxite from Guinea.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Aluminium plays an essential role in decarbonisation economy-wide. It is also important how sustainably aluminium is produced, and this includes the transportation around the world of millions of tonnes of raw materials.
“LNG-fuelled cargos are one way for us to reduce our emissions, and we are proud to pioneer this fuel for shipping bauxite. Our goal is to reach net zero by 2050, including from our supply chain, and help meet the increasing global demand for the low carbon aluminium.”
In order to reach its net zero goal EGA signed a deal in 2022 with “K” Line to develop and implement new marine decarbonisation technologies suitable for EGA’s bulk cargo shipping routes in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean.
