The shipping line has extended its agreement with GoodFuels, committing its four container vessels to carry on running on the latter's MDF1-100 biofuel.
Samskip's Endeavour, Innovator, Hofell, and Skatafell will sail on the biofuel formulated from sustainable waste streams (from the EU's Renewable Energy Directive list; the product also holds the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification).
According to Samskip, sailing on GoodFuels' MDF1-100 will result in 45kt CO2 savings by 2022-end.
"Sustainable marine biofuels offer a viable way for Samskip to cut CO2 emissions by 90% so that our ships and freight customers reduce their carbon footprint in the interests of the planet. It would take the equivalent of 1.7 million trees to offset this amount of CO2 emissions," Erik Hofmeester, Samskip's Head of Vessel Management, said.
He furthered, "As part of Samskip's relationship with GoodFuels, freight owners also become part of a scheme where the lower ocean carbon footprint is auditable as carbon credits in the supply chain."
Following biofuel trials in 2019, Samskip began routinely running main engines on board the 800-TEU Samskip Endeavour as part of services between the Netherlands and Ireland.
The company included Innovator on the Netherlands-UK service last year before adding Hoffell and Skatafell on the Iceland-UK-Netherlands route in 2022.
Bunkering for all four ships takes place in Rotterdam.
"Initially using a biofuel blend which achieved a 30% CO2-reduction, more competitive pricing enabled Samskip to integrate a 100% biofuel from 2021 and achieve the 90%-reduction," said the company in a press release.
Max Verloop, Marketing Lead at GoodFuels, also shared, "Verifiable performance is proving to be a key advantage for sustainable marine biofuels as a drop-in replacement for conventional oils. Clearly, several solutions are required to decarbonize shipping overall, but biofuels are proving their case on scalability - one of the key challenges facing any low carbon fuel alternative."
"In June, IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee published a new 'Unified Interpretation' which makes the first explicit acknowledgement that marine biofuels satisfy the requirements of MARPOL (The International Convention on Marine Pollution)," the two parties underlined in a joint statement.
Negotiations are already underway covering a 2023 supply contract, with one scenario on the table extending the agreement to chartered vessels.
Photo: Samskip