LNG

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.

Spanish natural gas and LNG terminals operator Enagás has signed an agreement with the Port of Huelva in southwest Spain to promote various gases including bioLNG made from waste.

Spanish energy company Repsol said the first terminal in Spain to supply liquefied natural gas as marine fuel was growing its customer base and a second LNG bunkering facility in the same region was under development.

Elengy, the French LNG import terminal owner, and TotalEnergies said that France’s first LNG bunkering vessel, “Gas Vitality”, has loaded a cargo at the Fos Cavaou LNG terminal, located west of the Mediterranean port of Marseille.

Spanish energy company Repsol has started the construction of the liquefied natural gas bunkering terminal in the northwest Spanish port of Bilbao to supply the Brittany Ferries company and its LNG-powered vessels linking to port in Northern France, the UK and Ireland.

The first two vessels to be provided for are the “Salamanca” and the “Santoña”, which will start their operations in 2022 and 2023 respectively. The Bilbao terminal will also supply other ships with LNG fuel in the future.

“The construction of this terminal is part of the long-term collaboration agreement formalized in 2019 between Repsol and Brittany Ferries for the supply of LNG to their operations in Spain,” Repsol explained.

This facility is scheduled to be commissioned in the first half of 2022.

The Bilbao terminal will have a cryogenic tank with a storage capacity of 1,000 cubic metres.

“The flexible design of the terminal will allow it to service different vessels in the future, representing an important decarbonization opportunity for port operations,” stated Repsol.

Joint effort

The Spanish company said the start of construction is on schedule thanks to the efficient collaboration between Repsol's engineering teams, the different administrations involved and the Port Authority of Bilbao.

Repsol said it was commited to industrial development for fuel and the bunkering venture involves an investment of more than €10 million ($11.7M).

Repsol is also planting the construction of a second LNG bunkering at another northwest port, Santander. It will have the same capacity as Bilbao and is being developed in cooperation with the Port Authority of Santander.

Work has already begun on the conditioning of the quay where the bunker station will be located.

Both terminals are co-financed by the European Commission through the CEF-Connecting Europe Facilities Programme.

Spain currently has six operational LNG import and storage terminals around the coastline and they will provide supplies of fuel.

Repsol cited data from the Iberian Association of Natural Gas for Mobility (Gasnam), showing that the current fleet of LNG-powered ships worldwide is 221, which represents 70 percent growth compared with the 131 ships that were sailing in 2018.

Spanish LNG terminal owner and network operator Enagás said the keel-laying had taken place of the first liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel to be built in a Spanish shipyard.

The construction is taking place at the Armon Shipyard in the northwest Spanish port of Gijón. The yard was founded in 1963 and is now one of the leading private shipbuilders in the European Union.

“Once operational, the ship will use the Enagás LNG terminal in the Port of Barcelona for the loading and subsequent supply of LNG to ships that berth in the port or make stops to refuel before continuing their route,” explained Enagás

The formal keel-laying ceremony took place at the yard, attended by executives involved in the project, including the Enagás subsidiary Scale Gas and Knutsen OAS Shipping, the Norwegian fleet operator and owner of the bunkering newbuild.

The ship will have an LNG storage capacity of 5,000 cubic metres, be 92.75 metres in length with a beam of 16.90 metres and draught of 4.25 metres.

The vessel will itself be powered by LNG fuel and will comply with all safety measures, as established by the different regulations.

The project is also being supported by the Port of Barcelona, which is keen to be part of the Mediterranean LNG fuel hub for shipping.

“The bunkering initiative is framed within the European Union's funding programme for transport, Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which has approved €9 million ($10.7M) for its implementation,” said Enagás.

While Knutsen will own the vessel and Enagás will host the ship at the Barcelona terminal, the supply of the LNG for bunkering will be guaranteed by Shell Spain.

“Shell plans to double its existing LNG bunkering infrastructure on key international trade routes by the mid-2020s and this vessel will play an important role in that journey,” explained Enagás.

Enagás noted that Shell completed the first LNG ship-to-ship bunkering in Barcelona in 2019 and said it was looking forward to working with the partners on this project.

“In addition to promoting more sustainable maritime transport and improving air quality in the city of Barcelona, this project will be a further step to consolidate Spain and the Port of Barcelona as European LNG bunkering locations,” stated Enagás.

Brittany Ferries, the shipping line connecting passengers and freight in France, Spain, the UK and the Republic of Ireland has extended a liquefied natural gas fuel supply agreement with Spanish energy company Repsol as it awaits the delivery of three LNG-powered ferries.