LNG

Avenir LNG has helped organize the first LNG fuel delivery in the German Baltic Sea Port of Lübeck, supplying the TT-Line ferry company’s new RoPax vessel “Nils Holgersson”, which carriers vehicles, passengers and cargo.

Avenir said that to execute the operation it teamed up with Liquind 24/7 GmbH, a leading German LNG infrastructure provide, and Landwärme GmbH, one of Europe’s leading biomethane traders.

The fuel delivered to the “Nils Holgersson” in the bunkering operation was 10 percent BioLNG, made from waste.

Avenir is a joint venture owned by London-based Stolt-Nielsen and shipping company partners Höegh LNG and Golar LNG Ltd and is listed on the Oslo over-the-counter market.

The company said the first bunkering of the supply agreement was the start of a long-term cooperation between Avenir LNG and TT-Line for the supply of LNG and BioLNG to two new RoPax ferries that will transport passengers and cargo between Baltic Sea ports in Sweden, Germany, and Poland.

Avenir noted that population in the in the port of the region would be immediately benefitting from the environmental advantages of these vessels being powered with LNG with much reduced emissions.

“We are excited about this successful first delivery of LNG to TT-Line in Lübeck,” said Peter Mackey, Chief Executive of Avenir LNG.

“The fact that 10 percent of the delivery was Bio-LNG underlines the commitment of all parties involved to reducing emissions of shipping even further through the development of a suitable small-scale LNG infrastructure,” Mackey explained.

“Avenir is committed to the deployment of bunker vessels and the construction of new terminals, to improve the availability of environmentally friendly fuels for our customers across the marine, industry and logistics segments,” stated the Avenir CEO.

Christian Schneider, Managing Director of Liquidind 24/7, said the effective execution of this bunkering operation showed effective cooperation between different small-scale LNG frontrunners.

“Furthermore, the operation showed the logistical and technical capabilities that Liquidind 24/7 has developed in the past few years as a leading alternative fuel infrastructure provider in the German market,” added Schneider.

Landwärme’s CEO Zoltan Elek said that despite existing regulatory barriers BioLNG was the most viable solution for quickly reducing emissions in maritime transport.

“It helps guarantee energy security, as well as independence on the path to carbon neutrality,” added Elek.

Cryopeak LNG Solutions, a small-scale liquefied natural gas supplier, said it completed the largest ever North American delivery of LNG by truck and trailer to a mine in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The Nordic LNG supplier, Gasum of Finland, has carried out its 200 ship-to-ship bunkering operation as maritime use of the fuel gathers pace in northwest Europe.

Brittany Ferries, the French line that links the UK with Spain and France, has celebrated the launch of its cruise-ferry “Galicia” and the start of work on another LNG-powered vessel, the “Salamanca”, at the Avic Weihai shipyard in Shandong in eastern China.

The newbuilds are part of the Breton company’s 550 million euros ($607M) fleet renewal programme.

Its very first LNG-powered ship, the “Honfleur”, is currently under construction at the Flensberg shipyard in Germany and will enter service on the route from Portsmouth in the UK to Caen in France in 2020.

The “Honfleur” and the “Salamanca” will be joined a year later by a third LNG-fueled sister ship to be named “Santoña”.

“While ‘Galicia’ will be fitted with funnel exhaust gas cleaning systems, ‘Salamanca’ and ‘Santoña’ will be amongst the first ferries of their type to be powered by LNG, offering significant environmental advantages over traditional marine fuels, burning more efficiently and producing no sulfur, virtually no particulates and 95 percent less nitrogen dioxide,” said Brittany Ferries.

“The 215-metre long hull of ‘Galicia’ was majestically floated out at a traditional Chinese ship-launching ceremony,” said the company.

“Then, alongside in the building dock the very first steel was cut for fleet mate ‘Salamanca’, marking the beginning of the ship’s construction,” it added.

When complete, the two ships will serve Brittany Ferries’ long-haul routes connecting Portsmouth to Santander and Bilbao in northern Spain, with “Galicia” due to enter service in late 2020 followed by “Salamanca” in the Spring of 2022.

“It gives me great pleasure to be here in China to celebrate the launch of ‘Galicia’ and the start of work on ‘Salamanca,” said Brittany Ferries Chief Executive Christophe Mathieu at the ceremony

“Our customers rightly expect our fleet to be modern, comfortable and efficient, with the promise of minimal environmental impact from operations and we can only achieve this aim with the very best, innovative new ships,” added Mathieu.

“The ‘Galicia and ‘Salamanca’ are perfectly suited to our long-haul Spanish operations, and will allow us to further enhance our service to holidaymakers and hauliers taking advantage of these routes,” stated the CEO.

Mathieu also mentioned the uncertainty facing the company over Brexit, as a long-time and popular ferry company for British passengers and freight.

“As a French company operating ferries between the UK, France, Spain and Ireland, we are, for sure, concerned by the current political uncertainty in Europe,” he said.

“But we are certain of the course that Brittany Ferries will follow in the years to come. And these brand new ships are tangible evidence - in steel - of our confidence and optimism looking ahead,” added Mathieu.

The three 42,200-tonne “E-Flexer” class ships will be among the biggest in the fleet of Brittany Ferries, measuring 215 metres long, with around three kilometres of space for cars and lorries.

Brittany Ferries currently has 11 ships carrying between 2.5 million and 2.7M passengers each year travelling in approximately 900,000 cars.

Freight trucks number 210,000 annually and there is one freight-only route linking Bilbao in Spain with Poole in the UK.

The company’s services cover 11 ports: Spain’s Bilbao and Santander, the UK’s Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth, the Irish port of Cork and the French ports of Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo and Roscoff.

Spanish ferry company Balearia is continuing with its build-out of dual-fueled ferries with liquefied natural gas capability by starting sea trials for its latest vessel as it increases cleaner LNG fuel use for its Mediterranean routes.