India has launched work on a pilot green methanol bunkering and refuelling facility at VO Chidambaranar Port in Tuticorin, located in southern India.

The project, with an estimated cost of INR 353 million ($4 million), will provide 750 m3 of methanol storage, the Government of India said in a press release last week.

The development forms part of the planned Coastal Green Shipping Corridor between Kandla and Tuticorin and is intended to support India’s wider push to decarbonise shipping.

Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister at the Shipping Ministry, who laid the foundation stone, stated that the project underscores the government’s commitment to developing alternative fuel infrastructure across Indian ports.

He added that the VOC Port is being developed as a hub for green hydrogen, ammonia and renewable energy alongside expanded bunkering capacity.