Financing supports LNG bunkering at largest Swedish ferry port

Located in southern Sweden, Port of Ystad is a busy connection point to the Polish Port of Swinoujscie and the Danish island of Bornholm, serving about 3,500 vessels annually. In 2019, Port of Ystad welcomed 2.2M passengers, 3.7M tonnes of cargo, 267,523 trailers and 580,201 cars, all record volumes. The financing will be used to expand the quays to accommodate new LNG-fuelled vessels of over 240 m, which will start operating in 2021.

One of those larger vessels will be a new ropax ferry ordered by Denmark’s Molslinjen. Operating on the Bornholm route between Ystad and Rønne, Molslinjen is building a 115-m dual-fuel, catamaran ferry at Australia’s Austal shipyard for delivery in H1 2022. Based on a similar design to 109-m Express 4 delivered in 2019, ropax ferry Express 5 will have capacity for 1,600 passengers and 450 cars.

The larger ropax vessels will require increased cargo capacity facilities at the port, ramps, shoreside power connections and the ability to bunker with LNG as a fuel. In 2018, the port link between Swinoujscie-Ystad was one of the maritime projects selected as an European Union (EU) initiative to invest in sustainable transport. Some €700M (US$756M) will be invested in the ports under the project.

Consortium partners in the project, ‘Cargo capacity upgrade and LNG bunkering Świnoujście-Ystad Maritime Link’, are Ystad Municipality, Gaz System with subsidiary Polskie LNG and ferry company Polferries in Poland.

The EU initiative will support upgrades of both shoreside and harbour capacity and improve environmental performance and LNG bunkering at the ports Swinoujscie in Poland and Ystad in Sweden.

Gaz System and their subsidiary Polskie LNG plan to jointly distribute LNG bunkering in the port of Swinoujscie.

Polish ferry owner Polferries plans to develop a large, dual-fuel ropax vessel expected to be in service in 2022.

Two grant projects for the expansion of Ystad harbour have been approved by the EU, totalling €132M (US$142.6M), with 25% of the funding, about €34.8M (US$37.6M), being provided by the EU.

The project is aimed at improving the climate performance of the port, reducing greenhouse gas emissions through using onshore power supply for berthed vessels and reducing manoeuvring by vessels through easier berthing.

“Ystad is a key connection point for tourism and transport in Sweden,” said EIB vice president Thomas Östros. “As the climate bank of the EU, the EIB wants to provide finance to projects that seek to reduce the environmental impact of their operations, while keeping business going and stimulating sustainable growth and job creation. This project is spot on in all of those senses,” he added.

“With this investment, Port of Ystad will soon be well prepared to further consolidate its position as the third-largest ferry passenger port in Sweden,” said Port of Ystad chief executive Björn Boström, adding “Now, in an even more environmentally friendly way.”

ABB has been working with Port of Ystad on its shoreside power connections. Vessels berthing at the port will be able to shut down their diesel generators and plug into onshore electricity to power their onboard amenities, substantially cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the harbour. The ship-to-shore power connection is estimated to cut GHG emissions by 97.5%.