Port of Gothenburg offers LNG bunkering

New bunkering regulations for ships operating on LNG have been drafted by the Gothenburg Port Authority and the Port of Rotterdam, together with the Swedish Transport Agency. The regulations will allow cargo ships to bunker LNG at a cargo terminal and are the first general regulations to be introduced in Sweden.

The regulations cover bunkering from land using a road truck, as well as from a bunker vessel (ship-to-ship bunkering). Requirements governing safety zones, weather, bunker vessels, receiving vessels, terminals and other aspects are included in the new operating regulations.

Dan-Erik Andersson, Vice President Operations at the Port of Gothenburg Energy Port, said: "We firmly believe that liquefied natural gas is the marine fuel of the future. The new regulations will have a key role to play in bringing added momentum to our region […] It is particularly pleasing that many ports in Sweden and in other countries have shown great interest in what we have done and are formulating their regulations using our regulations as a template. Even public agencies such as the US Coastguard have contacted us and are interested in an exchange of knowledge."

By next year, the Port of Gothenburg will be visited regularly by LNG-powered ships. Tanker operators Terntank, Furetank and Thun Tankers are all due to launch new ships that will be equipped to run on LNG.

Mr Andersson said that the port expects to receive a visit from an LNG-powered ship once or twice a week from 2016, with many taking the opportunity to bunker in Gothenburg.

For the time being, natural gas will come from terminals outside Gothenburg although eventually there will be an import terminal for LNG at the Port of Gothenburg.

At the turn of the year a new port tariff was introduced at the Port of Gothenburg, which means that LNG-powered ships will receive a 30% discount on the port charge when they visit the port.

"Our considerably discounted port charge, together with the new regulations, will provide an excellent incentive for our shipping company clients to switch from oil to liquefied natural gas," Dan-Erik Andersson concluded.

Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/06072015/port-of-gothenburg-offers-lng-bunkering-994/