NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers (NBP) has operated a methanol dual-fuel bulk carrier using low-carbon methanol fuel for BHP Group, achieving what the company claims is an approximately 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a well-to-wake basis compared with conventional fuel.

The voyage on the vessel Green Future, which transported copper concentrate, represents the world’s first use of low-carbon methanol fuel on an oceangoing bulk carrier, according to NYK Group research.

Green Future was delivered in May 2025 as NYK Group’s first methanol dual-fuel bulk carrier. Following the low-carbon methanol bunkering in September 2025, the vessel loaded copper concentrate in Chile in January 2026 and is scheduled to discharge in China in March 2026.

The low-carbon methanol fuel used for the voyage was produced from biomass-derived feedstock and bunkered at Ulsan Port, South Korea. The fuel is certified under ISCC EU standards, which are designed to verify the sustainability and traceability of biomass and biofuels.

Through this operation, NYK Group says it is exploring how low-carbon fuels can contribute to reducing Scope 1 emissions and support BHP in lowering Scope 3 emissions.

Additionally, NYK notes that the initiative illustrates the potential for low-carbon methanol to help reduce the overall carbon footprint of copper products manufactured from transported copper concentrate.

NBP is a member of NYK Group, which comprises Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and its subsidiaries.

Notes:

The well-to-wake calculation includes greenhouse gas emissions across the entire process of fuel production, delivery and use on board vessels.

Scope 1 emissions refer to direct emissions from operations owned or controlled by the reporting company, such as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases generated by the combustion of fossil fuels.

Scope 3 emissions are all indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in the reporting company’s value chain, including both upstream and downstream emissions.