First LNG bunkering in mainland Portugal

Carried out at the Port of Sines on 29 February, the truck-to-ship operation involved fuelling the LNG-powered trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Scheldt River, owned by DEME Group.

“Procedures like this highlight the capacity and importance of the Port of Sines in the national panorama, at the same time that they meet the European Community guidelines that aim to decarbonize the economy, using Natural Gas as a transition fuel for even more ecological alternatives, reducing pollution atmospheric emissions and greenhouse gas emissions,” said the Port of Sines.

Truck-to-ship bunkering involves the supply of LNG to a ship through a tanker truck parked on the quay. In this particular case, the LNG was loaded into the tanker truck at the filling station of the Natural Gas Terminal and supplied to the ship docked at the Multipurpose Terminal, with the entire operation taking place in the Port of Sines’ jurisdiction area.

In 2019 the Sines LNG Terminal handled more than 4m tonnes of LNG, the best result since it started operating in 2004, representing a 44.5% year-on-year growth, compared to 2018.

In December 2017, Galp Energia refuelled LNG cruise vessel AIDAprima at the Port of Funchal, on the island of Madeira. This was the first ever LNG refuelling carried out at a Portuguese port.