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.

MAN Energy Solutions, the Denmark-based subsidiary of the German engine-maker, said it would supply the LNG and diesel dual-fuel engines for a ferry being built at the Jinling Shipyard in China.

MAN Energy said the Jinling yard, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Merchants Industry based in the port of Nantong, had ordered four MAN 51-60DF engines for a newbuild, 230-metre-long RoPax vessel for TT-Line, the German ferry operator.

The vessel will feature a complete MAN propulsion package, including propellers, a fuel-gas-supply system and fuel-saving technology in the hybrid engines.

The newbuild is based on a TT-Line design developed in collaboration with Copenhagen-based designer, OSK-Shiptech, and is scheduled for delivery in 2022.

The ferry is designed to carry 800 passengers and 200 trucks and is expected to enter service within TT-Line’s route network in the Baltic Sea.

“Operating on LNG, the new vessel will have 50 percent fewer emissions than TT-Line’s previous generation of vessels,” said MAN Energy.

TT-Line, based in the port of Travemunde, is a market leader in ferry services between Germany, Poland and Sweden. The ferry line currently has six ferries operating on various routes in the Baltic.

The company carries nearly 900,000 passengers, 180,000 cars and more than 400,000 freight units annually.

The German Federal Ministry of Transport had previously agreed to absorb the additional costs of installing LNG capability into the RoPax vessel and also for a second vessel if TT-Line exercises an option.

“Running on LNG, our propulsion package will enable this vessel to operate on such low emissions that it will become the most environmentally friendly RoPax ferry in the Baltic,” said Lex Nijsen, Head of Four-Stroke Marine Sales at MAN Energy.

“Our business, to a great extent, is based on offering systems such as this that help our customers to increase the efficiency of their plants and reduce emissions, while leading the way to a carbon-neutral future,” added Nijsen.

MAN Energy’s fuel-gas specialist, MAN Cryo, will supply the new vessel’s fuel-gas-supply system.

MAN Cryo offers systems for the storage, distribution and handling of liquefied gases and was fully integrated into the company in 2015.

“This order is the very first MAN dual-fuel, diesel-mechanical propulsion system for a ferry application, which reflects our strategic direction of developing sustainable technologies and solutions,” stated Nijsen.