The vessel received 120 tonnes of LNG in a truck-to-ship operation at Cartagena, Spain. Six trucks of LNG were brought to the Spanish port and then transferred the gas to the vessel.
“We are glad that the first LNG bunker operation for ‘Fure Vinga’ in Europe has been completed smoothly, thanks to the co-operation of all parties involved in the bunker operation, including the ship’s crew and port authorities, as well as the profound preparation by Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF) and Nauticor,” said Lars Höglund, Furetank CEO.
LNG experts from Hamburg-based Nauticor GmbH and Madrid-based GNF joined forces to enable the bunkering operation, thereby enlarging their LNG bunkering network and adding further evidence of the Europe-wide availability of LNG as marine fuel.
“Combining our LNG expertise has made this bunkering a complete success, evidencing to the customer that the availability of LNG as a bunker fuel is improving by the day,” claimed Mahinde Abeynaike, Nauticor CEO.
“With this type of co-operation, it is evident that the use of LNG as a marine fuel is an economic, real and available solution for shipping companies, guaranteeing supply in ports of different areas”, Joaquin Mendiluce, GNF general manager said.
Swedish flagged ‘Fure Vinga’ is the first of a series of six newbuilding chemical carriers ordered by Donsö based Furetank. The vessel is the second LNG-fuelled ship in the company’s fleet after the retrofitted chemical tanker ‘Fure West’, which has been using LNG since 2015.
Nauticor was already supplying ‘Fure West’ with LNG in Northwest Europe. The co-operation with GNF showed new possibilities for LNG supply, the company said. Nauticor has developed a network of LNG bunker locations in Northwest Europe over the last few years.