An international bulk carrier received 1,021 tonnes of green methanol at the Dàyǔshān anchorage off Guangzhou on 6 September, according to a report published by China’s Ministry of Transport on 14 September. Sinopec China Marine Bunker used its Daqing 268 dual-fuel bunkering vessel to transfer the fuel ship to ship to the vessel Green Future. The ministry described the operation as the first green-methanol bunkering for an internationally sailing bulk carrier in China and the first ship-to-ship methanol bunkering at Guangzhou Port. The report provides the quantity and the method of transfer. It does not identify the fuel’s production site, provide a batch-specific lifecycle emissions intensity or state a price.

The ministry said green-methanol bunkering in China had previously been used mainly for container and roll-on/roll-off vessels. Bulk carriers take larger fuel volumes and have more variable routes and port calls, which raise the importance of reliable supply chains and a broad network of bunkering locations. The operation therefore demonstrates a practical port-side step for serving a different vessel class, rather than only a transfer to a single ship. One operation, however, does not establish recurring supply capacity or prove that commercial-scale fuel availability is secured. That would require repeated deliveries, dependable fuel sourcing and coordination across ports. The ministry’s account does not give a schedule for additional bulk-carrier operations or a forecast of future volumes.

The report said Guangzhou joined China’s green-methanol bunkering locations through the operation; Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong now each have such activity. The locations point to development of marine-fuel infrastructure in southern China. The report calls the fuel “green methanol,” but it does not publish a lifecycle emissions calculation or independent certification for this shipment. The quantity is a measurable operational fact; a quantified climate benefit cannot be inferred without information about the fuel’s production pathway, the vessel’s total fuel use and the comparison boundary against conventional fuel. Follow-up data on repeat deliveries and consistent fuel specifications would help show how far port services are supporting alternative marine fuels. The announcement documents a completed transfer, while leaving those wider supply and emissions questions open. No data on subsequent sailings were provided.