LNG

Dec 12 (LNGJ) - The United Nations International Maritime Organisation’s Secretary-General Kitack Lim from South Korea has issued an urgent warning about threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea used by vessels entering or exiting the Suez Canal. “The recent reports of threats made to commercial shipping in the Red Sea are extremely alarming and unacceptable,” Lim said.

   “Ships, cargoes and seafarers must be protected at all times. I invite Member States to work together to ensure unhindered and safe global navigation,” he added. About 60 vessels including LNG carriers normally transit the Suez Canal each day, though numbers have dropped recently due to war risks. “Commercial shipping should never be a collateral victim of geopolitical conflicts. Any attack on commercial shipping is contrary to international maritime law, including laws which protect the freedom of navigation,” Lim stated.

Venice LNG, a company owned by Italian industrial groups Decal SpA, said it had obtained an authorization decree for the construction and operation of a small-scale LNG storage terminal in the industrial area of ​​Porto Marghera.

The permit has come from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development in agreement with the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport.

The main infrastructure will consist of a 32,000 cubic metres capacity small-scale LNG import terminal able to receive feeder ships of up to 30,000 cubic metres capacity.

Facilities will be located in an area owned by Decal, alongside the existing oil storage site along the South Industrial Canal and on restored land formerly used for a coal plant.

Venice LNG's construction phase is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021, while operations are scheduled for start-up by around mid-2024.

“This step forward in the fuel infrastructure for road and marine transport is made possible thanks to a private investment of over €100 million ($120M) by Decal Spa Group through its subsidiary Venice LNG,” said the company.

“The project is promoted and supported by the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority and co-financed by the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility initiative for a total of €18.5M ($22.3M),” it added.

LNG will arrive at the Venice storage terminal by small and medium-sized LNG carriers and will be distributed on tank trucks, ISO-tanks and barges.

“Thanks to LNG, pollutants in the atmosphere and in the waters of the Venice lagoon will be drastically reduced,” stated the company.

The authorization incorporates the requirements by all the authorities involved in the procedure, including the Veneto Region, and which must be fulfilled by Venice LNG before and during the construction and operation of the coastal storage facility.

Among the requirements, there will be mitigation of dust and noise emissions during the construction phase, along with an Environmental Monitoring Plan and the implementation of procedures to limit waste production.

“We are pleased to have reached the authorization decree, since it confirms the value of our project ,” said Gian Luigi Triboldi, President and Chief Executive of Venice LNG.

“Our project went through a long technical-administrative path, involving many authorities and the local community too. Now, we are ready to give our contribution to promote the use of LNG, which plays a key role in the energy transition process,” explained the CEO.

In addition to the storage tank, the Venice project also includes a jetty and a system to allow the loading of barges and the installation of a boil-off gas management system.

About three-quarters of the volumes will be aimed at the road transport market and the balance will be sold to the ship bunkering sector.

The largest LNG facility in the region is Adriatic LNG, which imports cargoes from Qatar to be fed into the Italian natural gas transmission system.

The EU is promoting small-scale LNG distribution and more use of the fuel in trucking as part of its clean energy policy.

With the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s 0.5 percent global sulphur cap in 2020, LNG is being put forward as the most economic and viable alternative fuel for ship owners. 

Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, the Japanese maritime classification society, has issued its latest survey guidelines for facilities and equipment on liquefied natural gas bunkering vessels supplying fuel to LNG-powered ships at sea.

South Korea said it would start replacing 140 government-owned coastal ships with newbuild vessels using clean fuel and with the largest having propulsion systems powered by liquefied natural gas.

The cooperation of French energy major Total with China in large-scale liquefied natural gas investments in Russia's Arctic region projects has extended to small-scale LNG with the completion of its first bunkering vessel at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding yard near Shanghai.