JF Fendercare performs its 1st ship-to-ship transfer of biofuel feedstock in Asia

Ship-to-ship fuel transfer company JF Fendercare announced in May that it has invested in a new addition to its capabilities, which enables biofuel transfers in support of clean-energy growth.

JF Fendercare has invested in a new capability for the transfer of byproduct oils and the biofuels they produce and has recently undertaken ship-to-ship transfers, including one of fish fat at its Nipah base in Indonesia.

Sustainable fuel sources are increasingly important in the global energy industry.

Recently, the Asian market has seen huge growth in demand for biofuels, as countries turn to domestic biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel as cleaner fuel sources.

To aid this growth, JF Fendercare has invested in new equipment to support growing export demands.

The new composite hoses, which do not degrade on contact with oil, allow for the STS transfer of these biofuels.

This means larger cargoes can be transported at once, further reducing emissions.

“With the growth of the clean-energy industry and a global push towards renewable energy, companies are looking to transport and trade green-energy sources and fuels,” said Will Barker, JF Fendercare’s business development manager for growth markets. “Businesses want to benefit from the growth, protect the environment and create efficiencies where they can. One way of achieving this is to aggregate smaller supply markets into bulk shipments to reduce the ton-per-mile cost by shipping larger-size cargoes to the demand markets. STS transfers of biofuels make this bulk transportation easier, and JF Fendercare can now support the growth globally by assisting in the movement of these products.”

JF Fendercare recently undertook its operation off Nipah, where it aggregated a parcel of fish fat into a larger cargo.

Substances like used cooking oil and fish fats can be transformed into biofuels like biodiesel, which have a multitude of uses in energy and transport.

“We’ve invested in some specialized equipment including hoses, which are designed for handling biofuels and biodiesel to serve the increasing ship-to-ship requirements in Nipah,” said Kelvin Tan, operations manager for JF Fendercare in the Asia-Pacific region. “We are excited to increase our capability in Asia, leveraging our significant experience in STS and new fuel markets given the importance of biofuels to the region. Biodiesel contains esterified vegetable oils, which can damage the elastomers typically used in the production of fuel-oil hoses. However, our composite hoses are lined with polyamide (nylon), which has excellent resistance to both mineral oils and the component chemicals that constitute typical biofuels.”

JF Fendercare’s biofuel-transfer capabilities are now available for immediate spot operations from its Nipah base in Indonesia.

The company said it is looking to provide STS services in other regions too.