GAC Ireland and Green Biofuels Limited UK (GBF) have announced the debut lifting of biofuel from Cork Terminal, Ireland’s first clean fuels terminal.
GAC has been appointed to operate and maintain GBF’s Cork Terminal from March this year and in a statement issued today (9 May) the company said that the first 39,000-litre lifting of Gd+ fuel, which is made from renewable feedstock, was undertaken in April. The cargo was discharged from the tanker Stolt Greenshank.
Previously, GBF leased tanks in UK through third parties but, now they have begun operations at their own facility, GAC has commenced terminal management services at the site, providing terminal operators, loading masters and jetty operators who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the terminal, discharging fuel from vessels and overseeing the loading of fuel onto trucks for delivery.
In 2021, Ireland imported over 8 million litres of Gd+ HVO from the UK, and GBF says it is seeing significant growth to this figure as industries turn to greener alternatives to fossil fuel. Ireland has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050.
The Cork Terminal currently only handles Gd⁺ but options to store other clean fuels there are being explored. The current capacity of 38 million litres is set to increase to 53 million litres with further development.
In March 2021 commercial vessel operator GPS Marine and GBF collaborated on the deployment of a new bunker barge on the River Thames in the UK to supply hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) GreenD+ fuel.
