Shell Espanà will charter a new LNG bunkering vessel under construction to support LNG refuelling at the Port of Barcelona
Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Armon laid the keel for the 5,000-m3 capacity LNG bunkering vessel at its shipyard in Gijon, Spain. The vessel is being built for Scale Gas, a subsidiary of Enagás and will be operated by Norway’s Knutsen OAS Shipping.
The initiative is framed within the European Union’s funding programme for transport, Connecting Europe Facility, which has approved €9M (US$10.7M) for its implementation, and is part of the institutional strategy ’LNGhive2’ led by Puertos del Estado. It aims to support the development of the LNG market as a sustainable maritime fuel, in line with the Directive 94/2014/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.
Loading LNG at the Enagás LNG terminal in Barcelona, the LNG bunkering vessel will play an important role in Shell’s plans to double its existing LNG bunkering infrastructure on key international trade routes by the mid-2020s. In 2019, Shell completed the first LNG ship-to-ship bunkering in Barcelona.
With a length of 92.75 m, beam of 16.9 m and draught of 4.25 m, the LNGBV will be powered by LNG.
LNG is currently the only widely available alternative fuel to decarbonise deepsea shipping, eliminating 100% emissions of sulphur oxides, 80 to 90% of nitrogen oxides and 20 to 30% of CO2. Additionally, the use of LNG as a marine fuel in Spain will reduce between 2M to and 4M tonnes of CO2 by 2030, according to Enagás.
Bunkering operations in Spain
During 2020, LNG bunkering operations in Spain have more than tripled compared to 2019 (199 operations in 2019 versus 741 operations in 2020).
According to DNV, there are 30 LNG bunker vessels in operation: six in Spain and another 20 on order, supporting 197 LNG-fuelled vessels in operation and another 257 vessels on order, with 142 LNG-ready vessels in the fleet.
This progress has been made possible thanks to the development and investment of approximately €246M (US$293.6M) made by the partners of the public-private initiatives CORE LNGas hive and LNGhive2, of which €59M (US$70.4M) is co-financed by the European Commission.
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