PitPoint opened Europe’s first shore-to-ship Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunker station for inland shipping at the Niehler Hafen in Cologne. The opening of this station represents a concrete step towards facilitating clean waterway transport. The new LNG bunker station is part of PitPoint.LNG’s plans to develop a European LNG infrastructure for heavy-duty transport by road and water and is co-financed by the European Union. The strategic location of the station between Basel and Rotterdam and good access to the location were the main reasons for choosing the Port of Cologne.
This new shore-to-ship bunker station significantly expedites the bunkering process. Where LNG-fuelled vessels were required to submit a request and schedule an appointment to purchase LNG from a truck-to-ship bunkering station, shore-to-ship bunkering can now be done faster and easier via the station’s powerful pumps. Moreover, the shore-to-ship bunker station is open 24/7, with professional service engineers available to provide bunkering services. In the near future, the station will be able to fuel two vessels at the same time.
"We are very proud to welcome Europe’s first permanent LNG bunker station at our port in Cologne. This is another building block in our approach to focus on sustainable and environmentally friendly transport. LNG is known to be a reliable and clean alternative fuel, which helps reduce pollutant emissions in particular. That is why we see the use of LNG as an important step towards a sustainable future for logistics" said Jan Sönke Eckel and Wolfgang Birlin, Managing Directors of port operator RheinCargo
The opening of the LNG bunker station is an important step forward for transport by water. LNG meets the most stringent emission standards and makes cleaner transport possible.