Stakeholders’ view on selecting a prospective location for marine alternative fuels bunkering station

Abstract

In times of energy transition and global efforts being made toward net zero, maritime transportation with its global fleet operating worldwide plays a key role. However, despite sufficient technology readiness in both ship- and shore-side solutions, bunkering facilities dedicated to green fuels are not widely available in seaports. With massive investments at stake, it is crucial to identify the perspectives of all potential stakeholders and the factors they find relevant for deciding on the location of bunkering infrastructure. Therefore, to select the most suitable location for such a bunkering station, combined Multi-Criteria Decision-Making methods were used along with expert elicitation. The identified criteria were subsequently validated through their application using a case study of Polish seaports. The research was conducted for marine alternative fuels in general as well as for bio-methanol, which was selected by stakeholders as having the highest potential for early implementation. In order to increase the practical application of the results, a model vessel was defined and used to verify the criteria obtained. The results of the case study indicate that the most essential decision-making criterion in both research scenarios is the reliability of the fuel supply chains. Concerning a potential location for launching bunkering stations among considered major Polish seaports is the port of Świnoujście followed by the port of Gdańsk or Szczecin depending on the case study scenario. The results of this study may be considered useful for strategic decision-makers engaged in maritime transportation, fuel supply chains, and environmental protection.