If you move vehicles, machinery or breakbulk on ro-ro tonnage, the fuel line on your next quote is about to look different. EUKOR Car Carriers, SIPG Energy and World Fuel completed the first green methanol bunkering of the M/V Arctic Tern at the Port of Shanghai. The Arctic Tern is the lead vessel of EUKOR's new Shaper Class series, and this is the first time one of them has taken green methanol in commercial service. Dual-fuel car carriers have been on order for years. Fuelling one is the part that decides whether the economics work.
What Happened
The three parties delivered green methanol to the Arctic Tern at Shanghai, with SIPG Energy handling the port-side supply and World Fuel arranging the fuel. The Arctic Tern is a dual-fuel pure car and truck carrier, so it can run on methanol or on conventional marine fuel depending on what is available and what it costs at the load port.
Shanghai matters here as much as the ship does. Green methanol supply is still thin, and only a handful of ports can deliver it at commercial volume. Singapore, Rotterdam and now Shanghai are the ones building real capability. A car carrier can only run green for the legs where it can actually refuel, so bunkering infrastructure sets the pace, not the newbuild order book.
Impact on Freight Rates and Operations
Green methanol still costs more per energy unit than very low sulphur fuel oil, typically two to three times more depending on the feedstock and the port. That gap does not disappear. It gets passed through, usually as a green fuel surcharge or a separate line inside the bunker adjustment factor on your ro-ro rate sheet.
The offset is regulatory. Vessels calling at EU ports pay under the EU Emissions Trading System and FuelEU Maritime, and those costs are already showing up as EU ETS surcharges on Asia-Europe car carrier bookings. A methanol-capable ship burns down that exposure. On Asia-Europe vehicle routes the two effects partly cancel, so the practical question for you is which of the two lines your carrier is charging and whether both are on the invoice at once.
Operationally, expect nothing to change on transit time. Dual-fuel ro-ro vessels run the same rotations. What can change is port pairing, because carriers will bias green-fuel legs toward ports that can bunker methanol. If your load port cannot, your cargo rides on conventional fuel and the green surcharge should not apply to it.
What Shippers Should Do
- Read the surcharge lines separately. Ask your carrier to split the EU ETS charge from any green fuel or low-carbon fuel surcharge. Paying both on the same leg is worth a conversation.
- Ask which vessel your booking is on. Shaper Class and other dual-fuel car carriers are still a small share of the fleet. If you are being charged a green premium, confirm the ship can actually burn the fuel.
- Get the emissions figure in writing. If you report Scope 3 emissions, request the per-unit CO2 number for the voyage. Carriers running methanol legs can supply it, and it feeds straight into your own reporting.
- Lock cubic and weight data before you quote. Ro-ro and breakburk pricing moves on measurement, so a clean CBM and weight sheet stops the carrier from defaulting to a higher assumed volume when fuel clauses are already adding cost.
Key Takeaway
Green methanol bunkering has moved from pilot to commercial reality on car carriers, and the cost of it will reach your rate sheet as a surcharge line before it reaches your sustainability report.
Plan Your Shipment: Plan your load with our Freight Class Calculator and Pallet Calculator.
Source: MarineLink