Fresh Carriers Co, one of the international shipping partners of kiwifruit exporter and marketer Zespri, has successfully completed a trial using biofuel in a charter vessel operating between Hong Kong and New Zealand.
The purpose of the trial was to test the performance of the ship’s engines when burning biofuel.
The vessel Kakariki bunkered the biofuel in Hong Kong at the end of last month before starting its voyage south, arriving at the Port of Tauranga on June 8.
The vessel was powered by a blend of biofuel which is made from used cooking oil.
The Kakariki bunkered the biofuel in Hong Kong because there is none available in New Zealand. Zespri says if biofuel does become available in New Zealand it will present more opportunities for its chartered ships to burn the low-emission fuel.
Zespri chief operating officer Jason Te Brake says the biofuel trial is a collaborative step forward for the industry as it seeks to decarbonise and find innovative solutions for low emissions shipping.
“Shipping plays a critical role in New Zealand’s export driven economy, carrying 99% of New Zealand’s trade by volume and around 80% by value. Globally, the sector is responsible for around 80% of worldwide trade volumes and 70% of worldwide trade value.
“Every year we ship our Zespri kiwifruit to consumers in more than 50 markets around the world.”
International shipping accounts for around 43% of Zespri’s emissions footprint for fruit sold globally. It makes up a larger part of the firm’s emissions compared to other primary sector exporters given the low-emissions nature of its product.
Last year, the industry used 57 charter vessel sailings during the season, plus another 13,300 containers, shipping over 619,200 tonnes of New Zealand kiwifruit to markets.
“With Zespri having limited ability to directly reduce shipping emissions ourselves, we’re working with key shipping and distribution partners like Fresh Carriers to increase the efficiency of our shipping and logistics, and make the transition to low emissions fuels.
“The biofuel trial with Fresh Carriers is an important step forward and has given us both important technical insights, with the Kakariki monitored throughout its journey to make sure the biofuel performed well with no unforeseen technical issues. It’s fantastic to see it dock successfully in Tauranga,” Te Brake says.
Fresh Carriers director Toshiyuki Koga says the company is proud to see the Kakariki, its first vessel to trial biofuel, arrive in Tauranga.
“We have been in discussions with Zespri for a number of months about carrying out this trial and are now looking forward to further biofuel trials using other vessels. We are also considering a northbound trial taking Zespri kiwifruit to market this season.
“Biofuel supply chains are complex and there is still work to be done to ensure stable supply, however this trial is a first step towards decarbonisation with Zespri,” Koga says.
Te Brake says New Zealand’s place at the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean means accessing low emissions fuel options is a challenge.
Zespri is seeking partners “to shore up access to more sustainable fuels” to meet its ambitious targets and the expectations of customers and consumers, he says.
