Tue 9 Dec 2025, 07:45 GMT | Updated: Tue 9 Dec 2025, 09:04 GMT | Evangelia Fragouli

Landmark methanol-powered bunkering vessel departs shipyard


World's first methanol-powered IMO II chemical bunker tanker begins operations after completion of construction phase.


Maya Cosulich vessel.
The Maya Cosulich bunker tanker has departed Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipyard in China to begin operations. Pictured: The Maya Cosulich bunker tanker. Image credit: Fratelli Cosulich

Italy's Fratelli Cosulich Marine Energy announced on 4 December that its newly built bunker tanker, Maya Cosulich, has officially departed the shipyard, marking the start of the vessel’s operational journey.

Launched on 9 October at Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipyard, China, the vessel is the world's first methanol-powered IMO II chemical bunker tanker.

With a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 7,990 tonnes, Maya Cosulich employs diesel-electric propulsion with onboard battery storage and dual-fuel generators for methanol and conventional fuels. Designed by SeaTech Solutions International, the vessel also includes two mass flow meters (MFMs) for precise fuel delivery, complying with Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) methanol bunkering standards. It is expected to enter service in Singapore by late 2025 under time charter to TFG Marine.

According to the company, the departure represents a key milestone for the project team, who oversaw the vessel’s development from the first steel plate through to completion. Cosulich described the moment as one of "great pride," acknowledging the months of coordinated engineering and construction effort that went into the build.

The activities of Cosulich Marine Energy cover bunker trading, shipowning, and ship management services, whilst also acting as a physical supplier in Singapore.

Earlier this year, in July, construction of the firm's second chemical bunker tanker, the 7,999-dwt methanol-ready Lucia Cosulich, commenced at Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipbuilding in China.

And in August, the keel laying ceremony for another 7,999-dwt methanol-ready bunker tanker, Anna Cosulich, also took place at Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipyard.



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