LNG

French major TotalEnergies has launched its first LNG bunkering operation for containerships at the West Mediterranean Port of Marseille Fos with an LNG-powered 15,000 twenty-foot units (TEU) containership re-fuelled.

The “CMA CGM Bali” operates on the Asia-to-South Europe route for Marseille-based shipping line CMA CGM.

“The containership was refuelled by the bunkering vessel ‘Gas Vitality’, which has 6,000 cubic metres of capacity operated a ship-to-ship transfer alongside the Eurofos container terminal, while the containership carried out cargo operations simultaneously,” explained TotalEnergies.

The “Gas Vitality” is the second LNG bunker vessel chartered by TotalEnergies from the owner, Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines.

“This entire operation underlines a solid collaborative teamwork across the French maritime industry including the involvement of local port authorities to enable the vessels’ safe operatorship, and the commitments of all the parties to support the growing role of LNG,” said Jérôme Leprince-Ringuet, Vice-President at ToatlEnergies Marine Fuels.

“TotalEnergies is delighted to successfully complete Marseille’s first LNG bunkering operation of a containership,” added Leprince-Ringuet.

“Her deployment underscores the company’s commitment to support the French port’s ambition to be an LNG bunkering hub for the
Mediterranean region,” stated the executive.

TotalEnergies has actively invested in LNG infrastructure, critical to support its shipping customers’ uptake of LNG as a marine fuel.

The company has been operating an even larger bunkering vessel, the 18,600 cubic metres capacity “Gas Agility” since November 2020 at the Dutch Port of Rotterdam.

It was at Rotterdam that the “Gas Agility” completed the first LNG bunkering operation of the “CMA CGM Jacques Saade”, the largest dual-fuel LNG-powered containership in the world.

“TotalEnergies will also commence operations of a third LNG bunker vessel to serve Singapore,” it noted.

“The company was awarded an LNG bunker supplier licence for a five-year term starting on January 1st, 2022,” it added.

In the global LNG market TotalEnergies is the world's second-largest publicly traded player and will have a global portfolio of nearly 50 million tonnes per annum from after 2025.

The Paris-based company has stakes in 10 LNG liquefaction and export plants worldwide in Angola, Australia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the US, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Russia and Qatar.

French major TotalEnergies and liquefied natural gas bunkering partner Mitsui OSK Lines of Japan said their first France-based LNG re-fuelling vessel built in China has completed sea and gas trials.