Shipping company adopts use of biofuel to power 6,800-horsepower tug

Low carbon biofuel is being used to power the Crowley tugboat Veteran vessel, which serves the Bay of San Francisco

Spotted: Crowley Shipping and Shell Trading (US) Co. (STUSCO) have recently joined forces to initiate the use of low carbon biofuel to power the Crowley tugboat Veteran, a ship assist and escort tug serving San Francisco Bay. On March 9, the Veteran — a 6,800-horsepower tug — received its first load of 24,000 gallons of low carbon biofuel, which runs the vessel’s main engines, generators and barge generators, in a concerted effort to decrease the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas impact of maritime operations.

In contrast with conventional fuel, biofuel has a lower carbon intensity and therefore releases less greenhouse gas and fewer air emissions, including carbon dioxide and sulphur oxide, into the atmosphere. Crowley’s vice president John Ara states that the adoption of biofuel “continues Crowley’s commitment to enhancing the safety, sustainability and reliability of operations”, thereby allowing customers to “benefit from cleaner, efficient services that reduce our impact on the air and greenhouse gases, helping lead our industry toward greater sustainability.”

Veteran joins Crowley’s Vision/650-10, a U.S.-flagged, articulated tug-barge unit (ATB) that has continued to be bunkered with biofuel from STUSCO since December 2019, and currently serves the U.S. and Canadian West Coast.

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