LNG supply steady in Spain

A total of 18 ship-to-ship LNG supply operations were carried out in the Port of Barcelona during 2019. This figure represents 60% of such operations carried out in all ports of general interest in Spain, which totalled 30.

“The total supply of LNG to vessels in the Port of Barcelona during 2019 has been about 37,600m3, of a total of 81,704m3 of LNG supplied to all ports in the State, according to data provided by Gasnam, association which promotes the use of natural gas in maritime and land transport,” said the Port of Barcelona.

It added: “The Port of Barcelona has therefore been responsible for 46% of the LNG supplied to ships at ports throughout the state during 2019. A total of 18 ship-to-ship operations have added five truck-to-ship operations -ship (from a tanker to a boat), which added the supply of about 400 m3 more (LNG).”

Regular LNG activity

Direct STS LNG bunkering was carried out in the Catalan port by Anthony Veder’s Coral Methane LNG/LPG/LEG carrier, which has a capacity of 7,551m3.

Currently, the first two LNG-powered cruisers in the world, AIDAnova – belonging toCarnival subsidiaryAIDA Cruises, and Costa Esmeralda – belonging to Carnival’s subsidiary Costa Cruises, operate in Barcelona on a regular basis. This year’s forecast is that 10% of the cruise liners at the port will be on LNG-powered vessels.

The Port of Barcelona is committed to the sustainability of port activity and to the use of cleaner fuels.

For this reason, the port has all the necessary infrastructure and equipment to supply LNG to ships and it has become the main supply hub in the Mediterranean, it said. In addition, it is developing projects to promote LNG as a mobility fuel for both ships, trucks and terminal machinery.

These initiatives are included in the Port of Barcelona’s Air Quality Improvement Plan and aligned with the IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap.