Bahía de Bizkaia Gas (BBG) has announced the first LNG bunkering for the ship “Fure Vinga” of the Swedish shipping company Furetank in Europe; it was carried out by Nauticor and Naturgy in the Port of Cartagena (Murcia). The ship received 120 tons of LNG from six trucks.
“Fure Vinga” is the second vessel powered by LNG in the company’s fleet; it follows the chemical tanker “Fure West”, which uses LNG as a fuel since 2015.
For Nauticor, a leading supplier of LNG as fuel for ships, the cooperation with Naturgy, one of the main LNG operators in the world, shows the current possibilities of LNG supply. Nauticor has been a leader in the development of LNG for marine applications and has developed a wide network of locations for the bunkering of LNG in northwestern Europe over recent years.
“Our experience in LNG has enabled this successful truck-to-ship bunkering operation, showing the customer that the availability of LNG as a marine fuel is expanding every day”, said Mahinde Abeynaike CEO of Nauticor.
“We are happy that the first LNG bunkering operation for the Fure Vinga in Europe has been completed without problems, thanks to the cooperation of all the parties involved, including the ship’s crew and the port authorities, as well as the cooperation between Naturgy and Nauticor”, said Lars Höglund, CEO of Furetank.
For his part, Joaquín Mendiluce, director of Iberian Wholesale Marketing of Naturgy confirmed that “with this type of cooperation it is evident that the use of LNG as marine fuel is an economic solution, real and available to shipping companies, guaranteeing supply in ports of different geographical areas”.
LNG is also a fuel with great potential to decarbonize shipping, one of the greatest issues currently facing shipping companies. LNG reduces ambient noise by 50%, CO2 emissions by 25% and NOx and SOx by more than 80%, helping the companies meet stringent emission targets.
In addition to this, the Iberian Peninsula has key gas infrastructures to consolidate its position as a European reference in LNG.
Today, the global LNG powered fleet is increasing by 15% -25% per year, so if this tendency continues, by 2025 there could be a world fleet of between 300 and 600 vessels. Likewise, it is estimated that in 2035, 22% of the total bunkering operations will be with LNG.
Current EU legislation puts tighter limits on emissions of seagoing vessels in European waters. Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) force the operators of vessels to use propulsion systems that result in lower emissions. One of the possible solutions is the use of LNG as a shipping fuel. The EU aims to decarbonise the industry by 2050.
The International Maritime organization (IMO) has set a sulphur limit of 0.5% for fuel on board, starting on January 1, 2020. This IMO sulphur cap is another factor driving the adoption of LNG as a marine fuel internationally.