Shanghai Yangshan Port has completed the first domestically produced ultra-low sulfur heavy ship fueling and refueling in China

On the morning of July 24th at 9:00 am, PetroChina Fuel Oil Co., Ltd. successfully refueled 875 tons of domestically produced ultra-low sulfur heavy ship fuel for the COSCO PRIDE vessel of China COSCO Shipping Group Corporation at Yangshan Port in Shanghai, marking Shanghai Port as the port currently providing ultra-low sulfur heavy ship fuel refueling services in the Asia Pacific region.

According to the requirements of the 79th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the upper limit of sulfur content for ship fuel in the Mediterranean region as an Emission Control Area (ECA) will be reduced from 0.5% to 0.1% from May 1, 2025. According to estimates, over 17% of cruise ships and 24% of other fleets worldwide sail in the Mediterranean, and the implementation of the new regulations will bring about a demand of approximately 4 million tons per year for marine light diesel and ultra-low sulfur heavy ship fuel with sulfur content below 0.1%. In order to seize the opportunity of green and low-carbon transformation in international shipping, the Lingang New Area Management Committee has closely cooperated with China Petroleum and other units to promote continuous breakthroughs in green ship refueling.

In April 2022, China Petroleum established "Shanghai Fuyuan Fuel Oil Co., Ltd." in Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Since its establishment, the company has relied on the innovative advantages of the Lingang New Area system to implement policies such as mixing and blending ship supplied fuel oil through logistics. As of the end of June 2025, it has completed a total of 2.45 million tons of bonded oil refueling for international navigation ships. The launch of domestically produced ultra-low sulfur heavy fuel oil marks a crucial step forward for Shanghai Port's green and low-carbon fuel refueling business. It is reported that the domestically produced ultra-low sulfur heavy ship fuel provided by China Petroleum has reduced sulfur emissions by about 80% compared to traditional low sulfur ship fuel, lower production costs and energy consumption of lighter distillate fuels, better compatibility with ship engines, and better meets market demand. The person in charge of the refueling business said, "The development of ultra-low sulfur heavy ship fuel refueling at Yangshan Port in Shanghai plays an important demonstration and leading role in the green and low-carbon transformation of international shipping. It marks that Shanghai has taken the lead in establishing comprehensive solutions for traditional fuel oil, biofuel oil, ultra-low sulfur fuel oil, LNG, green methanol, etc. in the world, and will lay a solid foundation for Shanghai to build a global shipping hub and a high-energy shipping service center