Klaipeda Plans for Green Methanol Bunkering with New Vessel Concept
Key Takeaways
- •Western Baltic Engineering, part of the Western Shipyard Group, developed the technical specification and concept design for a green methanol bunkering vessel for Klaipeda.
- •The planned vessel would have capacity for 800 mt of green methanol and could supply up to 250,000 mt per year, operating in shallow waters and on local routes.
- •The study was conducted under the H2Deri@BSP project with 14 international partners and found the Baltic green methanol market is still at an early stage.
- •Offering alternative fuel bunkering could make Klaipeda more attractive to shipping lines and open a new business area for the port.
- •Klaipeda already has a green hydrogen production facility, and the methanol-powered container ship Eco Umande has called at the port since 2024.
Lithuania's port of Klaipeda is preparing for green methanol bunkering with a new bunkering vessel concept that could supply ships with green methanol in the future.
The Klaipeda Port Authority assessed the potential for green methanol bunkering as part of the H2Deri@BSP project, working with 14 partners from different countries, it said in an emailed statement on Monday.
The study examined expected demand, regulations, potential customers, supply chains and the environmental benefits of green methanol. The work sits against a backdrop of tightening shipping emissions rules: the IMO has set a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by or around 2050, while the EU's FuelEU Maritime regulation and the inclusion of shipping in the EU Emissions Trading System are pushing operators to cut the carbon intensity of fuels used on European routes.
The analysis found that the green methanol market in the Baltic region is still at an early stage, but ports offering alternative fuel bunkering could become more attractive to shipping lines. For Klaipeda, the service could also open up a new business area and expand the range of services offered by the port. Major shipping lines, notably container operators, have ordered methanol dual-fuel vessels in recent years, and ports across Northern Europe, including Rotterdam, have already performed methanol bunkering operations.
The project has now moved from analysis to a practical vessel concept. Western Baltic Engineering, part of the Western Shipyard Group, developed the technical specification and concept design for a green methanol bunkering vessel.
The vessel would be designed to operate in shallow waters and on local bunkering routes. It would have capacity for 800 mt of green methanol and could supply up to 250,000 mt/year of the fuel.
The port said green methanol could see demand from regional vessels, passenger ships and ferries, as well as vessels serving offshore wind farms.
Klaipeda already has a green hydrogen production facility, while the green methanol-powered container ship Eco Umande has been calling at the port since 2024.
Source: Ship & Bunker
