BP, Maersk Tankers successfully trial biofuel blend on ships

(Corrects paragraph 4 to show Maersk Tankers is an independent company, owned by A. P. Moller Holding (not a subsidiary of A.P. Moeller Maersk)

LONDON (Reuters) – BP and Maersk Tankers successfully completed trials using marine fuel blended with biofuel on tankers as efforts grow to tackle the shipping sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Global shipping accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions. The sector is considered relatively hard to decarbonise because of a lack of alternatives to marine fuel.

The trials were completed on two refined oil product carriers chartered to BP from Maersk Tankers – Maersk Cirrus and Maersk Navigator, BP said in a statement.

Maersk Tankers is an independent company, owned by A.P. Moller Holding.

Each vessel was supplied with bp Marine B30 biofuel, consisting of 30% fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), a biodiesel produced from recycled cooking oils and renewable oil sources, blended with very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).

“No adverse effects to equipment or machinery were observed during or after the trials. No modifications to the engine or infrastructure were required,” BP said.

(This story corrects paragraph 4 to show Maersk Tankers is an independent company, owned by A. P. Moller Holding and not a subsidiary of A.P. Moeller Maersk)

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Mark Potter)