The tugowner plans to trial using hydrotreated vegetable oil on its tugs operating at the Port of Açu, Brazil
Wilson Sons plans to trial using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) on its tugs after Brazil’s Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels gave approval for green fuels to be tested on tugboats operating at the Port of Açu, near Rio de Janeiro.
The biofuel will be tested on Wilson Sons’ tugs providing liquid-handling operations at the Açu liquid bulk terminal (TLA), owned by Vast Infraestrutura. The HVO will be imported by Efen and used as renewable diesel.
Wilson Sons and Efen expect these tests to enable a greater use of these green fuels on other harbour and offshore support vessels at this port to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The trial will include efficiency testing, will assess the effects on maintenance processes, and its effects on reducing GHG emissions. Depending on the complete lifecycle of the fuel, HVO could reduce net CO2 emissions by more than 80%, says Wilson Sons.
“Our decarbonisation agenda does not only include building more efficient tugboats but also decreasing the environmental impact of our fleet of more than 80 vessels,” says Wilson Sons towage division executive director, Marcio Castro.
“In this context, HVO emerges as a promising solution, as it is a drop-in fuel that does not require any adaptations to our equipment, representing an important choice for the port support industry.”
Port of Açu chief executive, Eugenio Figueiredo, says HVO will become a prime green fuel for vessels operating within the harbour, and will become a springboard for introducing other environmental fuels. “We want to foster energy transition projects in emissions-intensive industries, such as shipping,” he says. “In the future, we can set up HVO plants and other facilities for low-carbon fuels.”
Wilson Sons signed a memorandum of understanding with Vast to trial using biofuels on its tugs operating at Vast’s T-Oil in the port and aims to develop logistics infrastructure and services to help reduce the intensity of carbon emissions in the operations of both companies.
Vast is studying the possibility of using TLA tanks yet to be built, to store and add biocomponents to marine fuels and capture liquids not currently planned for the oil terminal.
“TLA will provide the necessary infrastructure to support the extensive use of biofuels, such as HVO, and to serve as a hub to store and handle a wide range of liquids, such as clear fuels, lubricants, ethanol and chemicals,” says Vast commercial director, Eduardo Goulart.
“These agreements further cement our strategic position in Brazil’s logistics chain and our relevant role in decarbonising the maritime sector.”
