Hong Kong achieved its first green methanol bunkering operation on Thursday (5 March), involving the bunkering of 500 metric tonnes (mt) of green methanol and 1,000 mt of grey methanol to the world’s first methanol dual-fuel roll-on/roll-off vessel CM Hong Kong.
This also marked China’s first green methanol bunkering operation conducted at anchor.
The bunkering operation was jointly conducted by China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) and CIMC ENRIC.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, in its 2025 Policy Address, proposed building a “Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering Centre”, providing tax exemptions for methanol bunkering and accelerating the planning of fuel storage facilities.
Sinopec said this first bunkering operation was a crucial step in the collaboration between government and enterprises to translate the policy blueprints into practical operations.
“The green methanol used in this bunkering achieves a greenhouse gas emission reduction rate of over 85% throughout its entire life cycle, reducing carbon emissions by more than 70% compared to traditional marine fuels,” the company said.
The green methanol was produced and supplied by CIMC Enric and has obtained ISCC EU certification. The bunkering operation was carried out through Sinopec (Hong Kong)’s bunkering service system, and the fuel was ultimately applied by CMES as the shipowner. Wah Kwong Ship Management manages CM Hong Kong.
The operation fully demonstrated a closed-loop green methanol value chain encompassing “production–storage–shipping–bunkering–application”.
The three organisations that collaborated to complete this bunkering operation stated that they would continue to further deepen cooperation, promote the industrialisation, scaling, and regularisation of green methanol supply in Hong Kong, and accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive ecosystem covering production, storage, shipping, bunkering, trading, and financial services.
These efforts will support Hong Kong in building a leading green maritime fuel bunkering and trading centre in the Asia-Pacific region, contributing to the national “Dual Carbon” goals, Hong Kong’s carbon neutrality, and the global low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry.
Related: Hong Kong unveils action plan to become green maritime bunkering centre
Photo credit: Wah Kwong Ship Management
Published: 9 March, 2026
