Crowley tug begins biofuel trials

Crowley Shipping and Shell Trading (US) Company (STUSCO) recently initiated use of low-carbon biofuel to power the Crowley tug Veteran, a ship assist and escort tug serving San Francisco Bay.

Veteran, a 5,070kW tug with a bollard pull of 82 tonnes, received its first bunkering of 90,000 litres of low-carbon biofuel on March 9 in San Francisco.

Veteran joins Crowley’s Vision/650-10, a US-flagged, articulated tug and barge (ATB) that has continued to be bunkered with biofuel from STUSCO since December 2019. The ATB serves the US and Canadian West Coast.

Crowley said the biofuel is lower in carbon intensity compared to conventional fuel. The use of the biofuel results in a reduction of greenhouse gas and air emissions such as CO2 and SOx.

The biofuel runs the vessels’ main engines, generators, and barge generators.