Shanghai Port has supplied more than 2 million cubic meters of bonded liquefied natural gas (LNG) to 355 vessels, with the latest bunkering operation delivering 4,549 cubic meters of the green fuel to Kota Eagle.

A vessel receives LNG bunkering at Shanghai Port. [Photo/WeChat ID: shlgguanweihui]

This milestone reflects Shanghai's sustained efforts to support the shipping industry's green transition. On Jan 30, 2022, 11 government departments, including the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, jointly issued the trial measures on bonded LNG bunkering for international vessels in the Lin-gang Special Area. This established the regulatory framework for the pilot program.

The policy was soon translated into action. On March 15, 2022, Shanghai Port completed China's first ship-to-ship bonded LNG bunkering operation for an international vessel, becoming the third major port worldwide to provide the service.

It took four years for Shanghai Port's cumulative bonded LNG bunkering volume to rise from zero to 1 million cubic meters in early 2025, but only one and a half years to double that figure.

The momentum is set to continue. By 2030, the bonded LNG bunkering capacity of Shanghai Port is expected to reach a million-cubic-meter level, according to an implementation plan jointly issued by the Ministry of Transport, the National Development and Reform Commission and eight other government departments to support Shanghai's development as an international green marine fuel bunkering and trading hub.