Edison grows LNG fleet, bunkering and supply

Edison, which imports 14Bn m³ of natural gas per year into Italy from Qatar, Libya, Algeria, Azerbaijan and the United States and supplies 23% of domestic demand, has signed a long-term charter agreement for a new LNG carrier.

The contract with Knutsen OAS Shipping is for a 174,000-m³ liquefied natural gas carrier, to be built by Hanwha Ocean at Geoje (Okpo) in South Korea and is scheduled to support the company’s shipping activities from 2028.

The vessel is intended to serve Edison’s growing portfolio of long-term free-on-board LNG contracts and to align with the group’s strategy of diversifying supply sources and increasing flexibility.

Edison executive vice president gas & power portfolio management & optimisation Fabio Dubini said, “We are working to strengthen strategic partnerships with our long-standing suppliers and, at the same time, to increase our international presence in the LNG supply chain with the aim of ensuring diversification and operational flexibility in support of Italian energy security.”

He added, “The expansion of our fleet, thanks to our valuable collaboration with Knutsen OAS Shipping, will enable us to manage the growing volumes of LNG that will enter our portfolio in the coming years.”

According to Edison, the new LNG carrier will be built to what the company describes as advanced technological and sustainability standards. The design includes four latest-generation membrane tanks with a high-efficiency insulation system to reduce boil-off and support performance.

The vessel will have dual-fuel propulsion using LNG and marine diesel, shaft generators to improve the use of onboard energy and a full reliquefaction system to recover boil-off gas and optimise consumption and emissions.

Edison stated that the ship intends to comply with current IMO rules and with forthcoming European FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS requirements.

The new contract builds on an existing relationship between Edison and Knutsen that began in 2018 with the construction of 30,000-m³ Ravenna Knutsen.

Edison described this LNG carrier as a vessel with “extreme operational flexibility,” which is used to supply a small-scale depot at the port of Ravenna dedicated to sustainable mobility and to refuel other ships with LNG. The company reported Ravenna Knutsen’s configuration allows it to adapt to different storage facilities and vessels and indicated it has also been employed to supply coastal regasification terminals during recent energy crises.

Upstream, Edison highlighted a parallel expansion of its LNG sourcing from the United States.

During Gastech 2025, the company announced an agreement with Shell International Trading Middle East Limited FZE for the sale and purchase of LNG, under which Edison would receive around 0.7M tonnes per annum from the United States starting in 2028 for up to 15 years.