ABS Awards Approval in Principle to World’s First Methanol-Powered Newcastlemax Bulk Carrier

International classification society the American Bureau of Shipping has granted its approval in principle for the world’s first methanol-powered Newcastlemax bulk carrier.

The AIP was awarded to China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding CO., LTD and China Ship Design & Research Center Co., Ltd (CSDC). The dual-fuel, 210,000 dwt bulk carrier is also equipped with the methanol tank capacity to fully meet endurance requirements on methanol fuel alone.

“Methanol as marine fuel is a promising fuel with the potential to support the industry’s journey to low- and zero-carbon operationsm,” said Patrick Ryan, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Engineering and Technology. “ABS is involved in multiple methanol-fueled projects, with leading operators all over the world. We are pleased to use our insight and experience to support this innovative bulk carrier design.”

Newcastlemax refers to the largest-size ship that can enter Australia’s Port of Newcastle, the world’s largest coal port.

Methanol, which can be produced from renewable sources, is drawing wide interest in the maritime as a promising marine fuel for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, most notably carbon dioxide.

“As early as 2016, CSDC realized the feasibility of methanol as a decarbonization fuel for ships and carried out relevant design and research continuously. In the research and development of this ship, we used our knowledge and experiences to make the ship have a good technical maturity and high reliability. We hope to bring more commercial and social value to our customers while continuously improving ship technology,” said Yu Dexin, General Manager of CSDC.