Cargill Tests Green Methanol with Delivery of Dual-Fuel Bulker

Cargill has taken delivery of its first green-methanol dual-fuel dry bulk vessel, a milestone in the agricultural giant’s push to cut emissions and test alternative fuels in day-to-day shipping.

The Brave Pioneer, built by Japan’s Tsuneishi Shipbuilding and owned by Mitsui & Co., left the Philippines this week on its maiden voyage. The ship will bunker green methanol in Singapore before sailing to Western Australia and then on to Europe. It is the first of five methanol-capable bulkers chartered by Cargill under a multi-year program aimed at scaling lower-carbon operations across its fleet.

Designed to run on either conventional marine fuels or green methanol, the vessel could deliver up to 70 percent CO? reductions when operating on the alternative fuel. Cargill says the project is as much about learning how the fuel performs at sea as it is about immediate emissions cuts.

“Decarbonising global shipping requires a mix of technologies and the willingness to take bold steps before the entire ecosystem is ready,” said Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill’s Ocean Transportation business. “Technologies like green methanol or wind-assisted propulsion come with uncertainty. But as an industry leader, we have a responsibility to test these innovations on the water, share what we learn, and help shape the systems and standards that will enable wider adoption.”

During the maiden voyage, Cargill plans operational trials to evaluate methanol bunkering procedures, verify environmental attributes through carbon-accounting systems, and gauge customer appetite for low-carbon freight services. The results will guide the introduction of four additional vessels scheduled to join the fleet in the coming years.

Cargill Ocean Transportation manages roughly 640 chartered vessels a day—about 70 percent for third-party customers—from 10 offices worldwide, with headquarters in Geneva. The methanol program sits alongside other initiatives including wind-assisted propulsion, voyage optimization, energy-efficiency retrofits, and the use of biofuels and ethanol.

“We know the road to low-carbon shipping will require a mix of solutions, and green methanol is one part of that portfolio,” Dieleman said. “These vessels are engineered to perform at a best-in-class level on conventional fuel today, while allowing us to switch to greener fuels as availability improves. It’s a practical way to future-proof ocean transport.”

As one of the world’s largest dry-bulk charterers, Cargill’s move is being watched as a signal to shipyards, fuel suppliers, and ports that demand for alternative fuels is becoming real. The deployment comes as the industry faces growing pressure to cut emissions despite limited supplies of renewable fuels and patchy bunkering infrastructure—challenges that will shape how quickly methanol and other options can scale over the next decade.

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