New plant at Gothenburg Port starts offering bio-LNG bunkering to ships
Gothenburg-based shipping company Terntank was the very first operator to take on LNG and bio-LNG at a new bunkering facility at the Port of Gothenburg. “Being able to offer this unique opportunity represents a major breakthrough, not only in facilitating the transition to LNG, but also in gradually increasing the proportion of renewable gas,” said Johan Zettergren, Chief Executive of Swedegas, which owns and runs the facility. The facility is the only one of its kind in Sweden. Designed from the very outset to handle both LNG and bio-LNG, which in terms of chemical composition are largely identical, makes the new facility flexible to meet the transition of the shipping sector. Moreover, the facility is the first in Sweden that allows tankers to bunker from a fixed pipeline as they load and discharge, reducing the turnaround time considerably. “LNG is the first step. The ambition to increase the volume of biogas has taken a new turn, as this technology and related infrastructure work equally well for both gases,” said Tryggve Möller, CEO of Terntank Ship Management, which has invested in LNG-powered vessels chartered by NEOT. “We are delighted to be working with companies that are driving the industry forward and with a firm focus on promoting clean shipping.” The LNG and bio-LNG that was bunkered at the facility was supplied by the Norwegian company Barents NaturGass, which has long, solid experience of natural gas distribution. “We are looking forward to being part of this unique concept where we can offer customers both LNG and bio-LNG,” said Gudrun Rollefsen, CEO at Barents NaturGass. In 2015, the Port Authority introduced an environmental discount on the port charge as part of a drive to increase the number of calls by vessels powered by LNG. “The discount has been a strong contributing factor behind many companies switching to LNG. In our endeavor to sustain this trend, we decided to extend the discount period by a further two years to 2020,” said Jill Söderwall, Vice President Business Area Energy at the Port of Gothenburg.
