INTERNATIONAL
LNG bunkering operations start in the Finnish port of Hanko
Elenger has started to provide LNG bunkering services to LNG-powered ships in the port of Hanko, Finland, for the first time in addition to Tallinn and Helsinki. For the port of Hanko, this means scheduled LNG bunkering on its premises, and Elenger will be providing the service to two new ships in addition to Tallink’s Megastar.
The two ships bunkered by Elenger in the port of Hanko are the largest short sea dual fuel LNG vehicle carriers in the world. Sister ships Auto Energy and Auto Eco, which transport new vehicles from Europe to Finland and Russia, are ice class 1A Super and can accommodate a total of 4,000 vehicles on their ten decks. Both environmentally friendly ro-ro ships belong to UECC, one of the largest companies specializing in short sea vehicle shipping in Europe.
“In addition to new passenger ships, new cargo vessels are changing to the LNG technology in larger and larger numbers. LNG will eventually replace diesel fuel among marine fuels, which will contribute to cleaner air and cleaner Baltic Sea,” said Kalev Reiljan, member of the board at Elenger. “Thorough groundwork and the extensive experience of our specialists ensured that the first bunkerings in Hanko have gone smoothly as planned.”
In the following months, truck-to-ship bunkering in Hanko will be performed once a week, every Friday. Four truckloads of LNG, which makes 72 tons, will be pumped to the ship. Like in Helsinki, Elenger is planning to deliver LNG to the port of Hanko from the new Novatek’s LNG plant in Vysotsk, which was commissioned with the assistance of Elenger experts.
Elenger is the biggest truck-to-ship LNG bunkering provider in whole Northern Europe. The company has procured nine semi-trailers for the purpose of LNG transportation and bunkering. Currently the Dutch shipbuilding company Damen is building for Elenger LNG bunkering vessel, which is to render services in the northern and eastern part of the Baltic Sea. It will be completed in 2020 and start bunkering LNG-powered vessels operating in the Gulf of Finland.
