24/04/2025

Singapore – Swire Shipping, a leading shipping company in the Asia-Pacific, today announced that three of its vessels serving the South Pacific have made the switch to B24 and B30 2nd generation biofuel blends. The voluntary move supports Swire Shipping’s long-term sustainability ambitions and will provide more options to customers looking to reduce their emissions.

The three vessels involved in the biofuel programme are Apia Chief and Tonga Chief on the Pacific Weekly Express (PWX) service running direct calls from Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Fiji, and Kokopo Chief on the East Timor (ETS) service which provides direct service every 10 days between Singapore, Dili, Darwin and Surabaya. The vessels will bunker B24 in Singapore in Q2 2025 enroute to the South Pacific, and subsequently transition to B30.

Tonga Chief anchored in Singapore

Swire Shipping’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Sutton, said, “At Swire Shipping, we are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and contributing to a more sustainable future. The island nations of the South Pacific are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and this move marks an important step in our ongoing efforts to reduce emissions and support a cleaner, greener shipping industry.”

The biofuel programme brings together Swire Shipping and its sister company, Argent Energy, a waste-based biofuel producer, achieving synergies within the Swire Group to meet the shared goal of delivering sustainable energy solutions to customers. The collaboration includes an agreement with BP, a supplier of biofuel in Singapore, to explore new feedstocks of marine fuel.

Argent Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Louise Calviou, commented, “This successful biofuel programme highlights what can be achieved through strong international partnerships, all united by the common goal of decarbonisation. It has been especially rewarding to work alongside our sister company and other partners to accelerate the use of waste derived biofuels. We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts, with sustainability at the centre of all we do.”

With the launch of its biofuel programme, Swire Shipping will also launch a carbon abatement programme, Voyage to Zero, to help customers decarbonise their supply chains. Participating customers will receive certificates of emission savings, verified by an independent third party, towards the reduction of their Scope 3 emissions.

“Swire Shipping has ambitious voluntary targets for reduction of emissions by 2027. The biofuel programme is a significant milestone in our decarbonisation roadmap, and with Voyage to Zero we are able to offer greater support to customers looking to decarbonise their supply chains. In this first year, the impact of the programme will be comparable to removing 2,700 cars from the road,” said Susana Germino, Chief Sustainability & Energy Transition Officer, Swire Shipping.

In August 2024, Swire Shipping conducted a successful 2nd generation biofuel B24 trial which allowed the company to test operational readiness to adopt biofuels on its owned vessels for the long term.

/End

About Swire Shipping

Swire Shipping, a leading shipping company in the Asia Pacific, is the wholly owned, deep-sea ship owning and operating arm of the multinational Swire group.

Headquartered in Singapore, Swire Shipping is dedicated to facilitating and growing trade in regions where it operates. Swire Shipping provides several high frequency liner shipping services in the Asia-Pacific markets; integrated logistics solutions in the Asia-Pacific; transpacific services between North Asia and the Pacific Northwest; and specialist shipping services to the global project logistics market under the brand name, Swire Projects. It specialises in providing a wide range of specialist customer solutions for project, heavy lift, refrigerated, breakbulk and mini bulk cargoes. Swire Shipping maintains a worldwide agency network in addition to its own representative offices across the Asia-Pacific, Pacific Islands, North America, and Europe, providing customers with dedicated service and expert market knowledge.

For more information, please visit www.swireshipping.com.

Media contacts

Kevin LIM
Head of Corporate Communications, Swire Shipping
Tel: +65 9296 7318
Email: kevinsp.lim@swireshipping.com

Stella CHOO
Corporate Communications Manager, Swire Shipping
Tel: +65 9126 2595
Email: stella.choo@swireshipping.com

About Argent Energy

Argent Energy is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of waste-based biodiesel and is owned by international group Swire.

The company operates plants in Stanlow, United Kingdom, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. With over 300 employees across sites, Argent Energy produces 195,000 tons of waste-based biodiesel annually, and construction of a new biodiesel plant that will triple production capacity at its Amsterdam facility in the near future is underway.

Argent Energy has established itself as a leading advocate for renewable fuels across various sectors, including road, marine, and other applications. The company is committed to driving the transition to sustainable energy solutions and strengthening collaborations within the renewable fuels industry.

More information on: www.argentenergy.com.

Media contacts

Rachel Knight-Fitzpatrick
Senior Marketing Executive, Argent Energy
Tel: +44 7935712572
Email: rachel.knightfitzpatrick@argentenergy.com

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