Repsol, the leading Spanish energy company, said it successfully completed its first multi truck-to-ship quayside LNG bunkering operation at the port of Malaga on the southern coast of Spain.
The company said this was the first LNG bunkering operation in this port for a cruise ship and was made possible through the collaborative efforts of four parties.
They comprised Repsol, the Royal Caribbean Group, the Malaga Port Authority and the ESK truck company specialised in the transport and supply of LNG.
Repsol aid it performed the multi-truck re-fuelling operation and supplied four LNG trucks with simultaneous operations at the port to fuel Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship “Silver Nova”.
Multi-truck
“The successful multi-truck LNG bunkering operation, while conducting vessel operation at port, enables the multi-energy companies to offer more sustainable transportation solutions across a wider range of routes,” Repsol explained.
Madrid-based Repsol said the quayside bunkerings highlighted the strong partnership between Repsol and Royal Caribbean as they work together to enhance the accessibility and availability of alternative marine fuel options for cruise ships.
During the summer of 2023, Repsol said it collaborated with and Royal Caribbean in a three-month trial to use a fuel formulated with 20 percent renewable fuel produced from used cooking oils on another one of Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships, the “Symphony of the Seas”.
“These collaborations align with Repsol’s commitment to the decarbonization of marine transport with a multi-technological approach,” stated Repsol.
Fuel terminals
Repsol is broadening its LNG bunkering activities and in June 2023 inaugurated its second supply terminal for LNG bunkering for ships arriving in the northwest Spanish port city of Santander, especially one of its main customers in the region Brittany Ferries.
The new facility has a cryogenic tank with a storage capacity of 1,000 cubic metres in addition to the terminal that Repsol already has in the nearby port of Bilbao.
Opening the Santander terminal was another step in Repsol's commitment to the energy transition.
Both the terminals in Northwest Spain are part of the collaboration agreement that Repsol signed with French shipping company Brittany Ferries in 2019 for the supply of LNG as maritime fuel for its operations in Spain to where it brings passengers and freight from ports in countries like the UK.
