Repsol has announced it supplied co-processed B30-MGO biofuel to a Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) ship in Barcelona. The delivery was made under the eight-year renewable fuel agreement the two companies signed in October 2025, which covers NCLH's Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands when they call at Barcelona.
What Co-Processing Means Here
Co-processing integrates renewable feedstocks such as used cooking oil or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) with fossil feedstock in existing refinery processes, producing a fuel that is fully compatible with conventional marine fuel systems. This differs from conventional biodiesel, which is produced separately and then blended. The B30-MGO supplied to the NCLH ship was produced using conventional and renewable feedstocks through Repsol's co-processing technology, meaning the renewable content comes from the refining process itself, not from a separate blending step.
How the Delivery Was Made
The fuel was delivered by Bahía Candela, Repsol's chartered hybrid bunker vessel, which used its onboard battery system during the transfer to avoid running auxiliary engines and reduce direct emissions. The same vessel, operated by Mureloil, carried out the bioethanol bunkering of Maersk's Antonia Maersk at Barcelona announced in July, in which 2,800 tonnes were supplied under commercial conditions. Repsol also offers co-processed marine fuel at the Port of Algeciras.
The Agreement Behind the Delivery
Under the October 2025 agreement, Repsol supplies a portfolio of renewable fuels to NCLH vessels calling at Barcelona, starting with biofuels from the 2026 European cruise season and adding renewable methanol from 2029. The methanol is to come from Repsol's Ecoplanta project, which produces renewable methanol from urban waste, and NCLH was described at signing as the first cruise company to sign an offtake agreement for renewable methanol from that facility. All fuels under the agreement are to be certified under the ISCC EU framework, and the deal supports NCLH's targets of a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity by 2026 and 25% by 2030, with net zero by 2050.
Source: Ship & Bunker, 9 October 2026.
