Proman Stena Bulk, the joint venture between tanker company Stena Bulk and methanol producer Proman, has formally named the third of its methanol-fuelled 49,900 dwt tankers ‘Stena Promise’, at a ceremony held in Rotterdam.
This was the first naming ceremony for a methanol-fuelled vessel held in the Port of Rotterdam, the venue being chosen in recognition of the port’s contribution to the maritime decarbonisation agenda. Rotterdam is the largest methanol hub in north-western Europe, and ship-to-ship bunkering has taken place at the port successfully several times, including for the first JV vessel Stena Pro Patria in August 2022.
According to Stena Bulk, there is growing momentum around methanol as a marine fuel, with over 106 methanol-fuelled ships on order as of the end of March according to analysis from class society DNV. This includes container lines, dry bulk and tanker orders, as well as from the cruise sector.
Stena Promise was delivered in November 2022. All four vessels in the IMOIIMeMax series have demonstrated an unprecedentedly low EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) value while running on methanol. Proman Stena Bulk’s IMOIIMeMax vessel series benefits from design improvements and technologies to maximise energy efficiency, resulting in an EEDI 11% below the 2025 Phase 3 requirements – setting a new benchmark for methanol-fuelled tankers and further proving the operational viability of methanol as a marine fuel.
Stena Promise has already been operating full time on conventional methanol from natural gas. The vessel will use approximately 11,500t of methanol as fuel per year, significantly reducing GHG emissions compared to conventional marine fuels.
David Cassidy, Proman CEO, said: “Stena Promise is the third state-of-the-art methanol tanker we have brought to market with Stena Bulk, and the first fully Proman-owned vessel in our fleet. She is a very special vessel for us, and it is fantastic to be able to use her naming ceremony as a driver to convene with partners, friends and industry leaders in Rotterdam at a pivotal time for the shipping industry’s low-carbon transition. We need to ensure that regulatory incentives and market-based measures continue to drive capital to projects which can deliver real, meaningful and immediate emissions reductions. And to do that we need to work with partners across the entire industry and shipping value chain to make green shipping a reality.”
Erik Hånell, President and CEO of Stena Bulk added: “The naming ceremony for Stena Promise is another step in our cooperation between Stena Bulk and Proman to prove the viability of methanol as a marine fuel. By gathering in Rotterdam – one of the industry’s most important bunkering hubs – we are once again underlining that methanol operation is technically feasible today. We are proud to continue working with our partners at Proman to advance our shared vision for methanol.”
