Maritime roundtable navigates future of green fuels in Malaysia

Malaysia has the potential to be a regional green fuel bunkering hub in Southeast Asia. On 6 November, maritime leaders from Malaysian Government and industry gathered in Putrajaya for a roundtable discussion on the decarbonisation of Malaysia’s maritime industry and future in green fuels. 

Co-hosted by the Australian High Commission in Malaysia, the Ministry of Transport (MOT), and Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), the event was attended by around 60 representatives from key Malaysian government ministries and industry stakeholders.

In his welcome speech, Acting Australian High Commissioner Simon Fellows confirmed Australia’s commitment to partnering with the region to accelerate decarbonisation of the maritime sector.

“Both Australia and Malaysia are striving for a greener and more sustainable maritime industry. By partnering with the Malaysian Government, we are driving forward decarbonisation initiatives in the ports sector, including through the transition to low carbon and green fuels,” said Mr Fellows.

Minister of Transport, YB Anthony Loke Siew Fook, opened the roundtable and emphasised the importance of maritime stakeholders coming together to discuss the opportunities and challenges for Malaysia presented by green shipping.

“Malaysia is blessed with a strategic location and world-class ports, like PTP and Port Klang, which handle around a quarter of all shipping container cargo in Southeast Asia each year. This makes us uniquely positioned to develop green fuel bunkering capacity, which would not only enhance our competitiveness and vessel stopover appeal, but also aligns with our decarbonisation ambitions in the maritime industry,” said Minister Loke.

The roundtable meeting, organised by Australia’s Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I), comes after Australia and Malaysia shared the findings of a study into PTP becoming a regional green shipping hub at Malaysia Maritime Week in June.

The decarbonisation of the regional marine transport sector requires an industry shift towards the use of greener fuels for cargo ships, such as methanol and ammonia. Alternative fuels and green fuel bunkering could strengthen Malaysia’s port sector and catalyse a low carbon fuel production industry by creating jobs and supporting economic growth.

At the roundtable, P4I maritime specialist Dr Jonathan Beard and PTP Chief Executive Marco Neelsen provided updates on the port and shipping industry’s actions to transition towards green fuels.

Roundtable discussions centred on increasing awareness and understanding of Malaysia’s potential as a green shipping hub, while exploring the policy, regulatory, technical and economic considerations of implementation.

The day was closed by P4I Executive Director Elena Rose, who thanked the MOT and the PTP for their support in working together on the study and roundtable discussion.