Making Bio-LNG Work for Maritime

Bio-LNG is getting more attention in maritime.

That is not surprising. LNG dual-fuel vessels are already in the fleet. FuelEU Maritime has started. EU ETS is expanding. Shipowners are looking for credible ways to reduce compliance exposure without waiting for future fuels that are not yet available at scale.

We know bio-LNG looks like a practical next step. But the real question is not whether bio-LNG can be bunkered. The real question is whether the customer can qualify the fuel claim.

For maritime customers exposed to Europe, this matters. A bio-LNG delivery is only valuable if it can support EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime reporting. That means the chain needs to be certified, traceable, documented and accepted by verifiers.

This is where the industry still needs more clarity.

For EU-linked compliance, the biomethane needs to meet sustainability requirements. The feedstock, carbon intensity, certification scheme, chain of custody and mass balance treatment all matter. It is not enough to say the fuel is renewable. The proof needs to travel with the product, through each handover, until it reaches the vessel.

That becomes more complex when the biomethane is produced outside Europe.

Can ex-EU biomethane be injected into a gas grid, converted into LNG, shipped to Asia, stored in a terminal, reloaded onto a bunker vessel, and then delivered to a ship in a way that still qualifies under EU rules?

Possibly. Several issues need to be worked through:

• How should mass balance be applied across pipeline, liquefaction, shipping, terminal storage and bunkering?

• How do we avoid double-counting?

• Will the shipowner’s verifier accept the documentation?

• How are methane slip and well-to-wake emissions treated under FuelEU Maritime?

These are not theoretical questions. They determine whether bio-LNG has real compliance value or is only a voluntary green claim.

For Singapore and Asia, this is especially important. The region can play a role in future bio-LNG supply and bunkering. But if the demand is driven by European regulation, then Asian supply chains need to be built to European evidentiary standards. That means early alignment with certification bodies, terminal operators, bunker suppliers, shipowners and verifiers.

Do not wait until the first delivery to discover whether the claim works

A credible bio-LNG pathway needs to be designed from the audit backwards. Start with what the shipowner must prove. Then work upstream: the bunker delivery note, the Proof of Sustainability, the mass balance records, the certified terminal, the liquefaction plant, the trader, and finally the biomethane producer.

This is where more regulatory clarity would help.

The opportunity is real. But so is the risk of overclaiming. If bio-LNG is to become a serious maritime decarbonisation pathway, the industry needs practical guidance on how ex-EU biomethane flows can qualify under EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime.

For now, my view is simple. Bio-LNG should be built as a compliance-ready chain.

That is the work ahead.