Port of Antwerp-Bruges presented the first tugboat running on methanol, namely Methatug. This tugboat is part of a greening programme for the Belgian port’s fleet and an important step in the transition to a climate-neutral port by 2050.
So far, the Hydrotug 1, the first tugboat to run on hydrogen, and energy-efficient RSD tugboats have already been added to the fleet. Another electrically-powered tugboat will follow later this year, as the first in Europe.
The methanol-powered tugboat project is being financed by the European research programme Horizon 2020 and is part of the FASTWATER project, which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of methanol as a sustainable fuel for the shipping industry.
For the Methatug, the engines from an existing tugboat were converted into ‘dual fuel’ engines, meaning that they run on a mixture of methanol and traditional fuel. The 30-metre-long tugboat has a traction force of 50 tons and can store 12.000 litres of methanol, enough for two weeks of tug work.
In addition to Port of Antwerp-Bruges, various other partners from the FASTWATER consortium are involved in this project: the Swedish ship design agency ScandiNAOS, the Belgian engine manufacturer Anglo Belgian Corporation, the German company Heinzmann responsible for the methanol injectors, Ghent University for the emission monitoring programme and the Canadian methanol supplier Methanex during the trials. In the FASTWATER project, the conversions to methanol propulsion of a pilot boat in Sweden, a river cruise ship in Germany and a coastguard vessel in Greece are also elaborated.
“Together with our partners, we are pioneering with innovative technologies for the transition to alternative and renewable energy sources,” said Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges. “The Methatug is a new and essential step in our efforts to make our own fleet greener and become climate neutral by 2050. Thanks to projects such as this, we are paving the way and hope to be an example and a source of inspiration for other ports.”
As the fifth largest bunker port in the world, Port of Antwerp-Bruges aims to become a full-fledged multi-fuel port, in which vessels will be able to bunker, not only conventional fuels, but also alternative, low-carbon fuels, such as methanol, hydrogen or electricity.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges marks first methanol bunkering with Ane Maersk
