Jamaica explores role in alternative fuel bunkering
In Jamaica, Ship Management International reports the Maritime Authority of Jamaica and the International Maritime Organization held a national stakeholder workshop to examine how the island could participate in the supply and bunkering of alternative marine fuels as global shipping shifts energy sources.
The session, part of an IMO GreenVoyage2050-supported study, reviewed Jamaica’s potential to produce and bunker fuels including biofuels, methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen. Officials pointed to Kingston Harbour’s depth and the island’s position along major east–west shipping routes as advantages in strengthening its role as a regional bunkering hub.
Director General Bertrand Smith said, “The reality is that the shipping industry is and will continue to decarbonise. LNG has emerged as a transition fuel, but we are also seeing the rapid development of scalable, low carbon, hydrogen derived e fuels and ammonia, which have moved from concept to firm orders.”
Five bunkering operators are active in Jamaica, including Shell LNG, with LNG volumes rising at Kingston and Portland Bight. Draft legislation to modernize bunkering standards is expected this year as the study moves toward a regional roundtable in Trinidad and Tobago.
Category: Sustainable Marine Fuels
