Port of Santos Begins Regular Ethanol Bunkering for Vessels

The Port of Santos, in Brazil, has begun regular bunkering operations supplying vessels with ethanol as marine fuel, under a joint initiative between CMA CGM, Copersucar, Bunker One and the Santos Port Authority (APS). The first operation under this new scheme took place on October 19, when the CMA CGM Iron, a 13,000 TEU containership fitted with the world's first tri-fuel engine certified to run on ethanol, the Everllence-B&W G95ME-C10.5-LGIM, was refueled.

The operation involves various partners across the production, transport, storage and bunkering chain for the biofuel. Ethanol produced by mills affiliated with Copersucar is transported to the Port of Santos by Evolua Etanol, a company within the Copersucar ecosystem, and stored by AGEO Terminais. The bunkering stage takes place at the Santos Brasil terminal, where Bunker One developed a protocol it describes as a pioneer in Latin America, following months of studies and specific crew training due to ethanol's low flash point. According to the sources, further bunkering operations for CMA CGM vessels with ethanol supplied by Copersucar are planned before the end of the year.

Giovani Grassi, CEO of CMA CGM Brasil, noted that following the first operation carried out in July, the company is now moving into a new phase that demonstrates ethanol can be incorporated into shipping operations safely, reliably and at commercial scale. Tomás Manzano, president of Copersucar, called the milestone a landmark for ethanol and shipping, marking the inauguration of the world's first green ethanol bunkering corridor. Anderson Pomini, president of APS, stated that the port authority and the partners involved have gone down in the history of world shipping and international maritime trade by becoming key players in ethanol bunkering for vessels.

According to data released by the companies, global demand for marine fuels exceeds 270 billion liters per year, and replacing just 10% of that consumption could generate an additional market of around 50 billion liters of ethanol annually. Growth prospects are also linked to the evolution of the world fleet: according to classification society DNV, 159 vessels already operate with engines prepared for methanol, which can also run on ethanol, and more than 450 new ships with this technology are scheduled for delivery through 2030.