The Port of Hamburg has welcomed its first LNG ship, the Norwegian Coastguard''s KV Barentshav, to mark the “LNG – the Norwegian Experience” conference organised by the German-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, Innovation Norway and the classification society DNV Germany.
The visit marks the port's commitment to forging ahead with LNG infrastructure in the future.
The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and Linde Group want to promote the use of LNG and are at present compiling a feasibility study on the commercial use of LNG in Hamburg. The findings of this research could be used for making a start on concrete infrastructure projects such as an LNG bunkering facility.
“The Port of Hamburg should be a leader for environmental friendliness and efficiency. In future, propulsion systems using liquefied natural gas should be playing a part here. With worldwide cooperation we now need to create the standards and the foundations for the essential infrastructure. The Port of Hamburg performs an immensely important role as a feeder port for the Baltic and consequently we are working on the essential preliminaries for the LNG infrastructure needed in Hamburg. We are also looking into equipping newbuildings for our own fleet with LNG technology,” said HPA managing director, Jens Meier.
To this end and to further its knowledge in building and operating LNG-powered ships, the Port of Hamburg is working closely with experts from Norway. Norway has had gas powered ferries for over ten years and has the necessary infrastructure in place to refuel ships using LNG.
Fourteen Norwegian terminals have been designed for the storage of LNG as a marine fuel, and four of these are already in use as bunkering stations.
