Refuelling at Port Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, dual-fuel tanker Damia Desgagnés became the first vessel to bunker LNG on the Great Lakes
The LNG bunkering service is the result of a new partnership between the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) and Pennsylvania-based LNG services supplier REV LNG.
“As a founding member of the Green Marine programme, we are always looking for new ways to support improved environmental performance,” said HOPA chief executive Ian Hamilton. “This offering to our shipping customers will keep HOPA at the forefront,” said Mr Hamilton, adding that the port authority aims to be carbon neutral by 2025.
REV LNG oversaw the commercial and technical development of the project, LNG transportation and all shoreside operations.
Pivotal LNG, a leading provider of LNG marine fuel in the US, supplied the LNG from the recently operational Towanda Liquefaction and Storage Facility, located in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. The facility is owned and operated by an affiliate of Pivotal LNG in partnership with REV LNG.
“LNG holds great promise for supporting the emissions reduction goals of the shipping industry and with Towanda’s proximity to the Great Lakes, we look forward to being part of that cleaner energy future,” said the parent company of Pivotal LNG, BHE GT&S, vice president of commercial LNG and gas development Roger Williams.
The Great Lakes – St Lawrence Seaway system is a major shipping artery, allowing the flow of cargo to and from the heartland of the US and Canada. Although LNG supply chains are still relatively new in the Great Lakes, demand for LNG is growing as shipowners work to meet or exceed national and international climate targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and improved air quality.
Based in Quebec City, Desgagnés has been one of the early Canadian adopters, investing in dual-fuel vessels for its fleet to reduce emissions. “Our LNG-fuelled fleet has now expanded to five Canada-flagged tankers all operating in the Great Lakes, St Lawrence Seaway system, eastern Canada and the US as well as the Canadian Arctic,” said subsidiary of Desgagnés, Petro-Nav Inc, president Jacques Beauchamp.
Currently, the only LNG capacity at ports in Canada exists along the west coast in British Columbia and the St Lawrence River in Montreal and Quebec City.
Chamber of Marine Commerce president and chief executive Bruce Burrows said, “Canadian ship operators have spent more than US$2Bn in recent years on new ships as well as adopting technologies and alternative fuels to decrease their environmental footprint further. LNG is part of the mix of solutions and having an expanded supply network will be key to its further adoption.”
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