UK-based oil major BP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese shipping giant Cosco that will see the two companies explore further ways to expand their collaboration.
The Deputy Head of Cosco Shipping’s Operations Division, Chen Wei, signed the agreement in Shanghai at the Marintec exhibition alongside a Senior Vice President from BP Group, Simon Yang. Cosco Executive Vice President Lin Ji and BP Group Executive Vice President William Lin were also present at the signing ceremony.
The two companies have been cooperating for some time in areas like manufacturing services for offshore equipment, the shipping of energy products and bunkering operations. The new cooperation strategy will see them work together in areas like Castrol marine lubricant products, the supply chain for the offshore wind sector, offshore construction and the supply of methanol as a marine fuel.
Cosco recently announced its intention to replace the four main engines of two Virgo and Camellia class containerships, which have capacities of 20,000 and 13,800 TEU, respectively. The retrofit will use dual-fuel ME-LGIM engines from MAN Energy Solutions to make these two vessels the first to be powered by methanol in Cosco’s fleet.
Cosco has a wider strategy for moving towards using clean fuels for its vessels as the shipping sector seeks to decarbonise, and the use of methanol forms part of this, as it can be produced sustainably from biomass and renewable energy. The company has also placed a $2.87 billion order for 12 containerships with dual-fuel engines capable of running on methanol.
