A milestone reached in the greening process that is taking place at the Port of Gothenburg. M/T Ternsund will bunker natural gas at the entrance to the port. This is the first time ever in Sweden that a tanker bunker this substantially cleaner marine fuel, the company said in its press release.
“We have worked resolutely for a long time to create a situation where a ship could bunker liquefied natural gas in Gothenburg. We have now managed to achieve our ambition and we are extremely pleased with the outcome,” said Jill Söderwall, Vice President and head of commercial operations at the Energy Port in Gothenburg.
Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, becomes liquefied when cooled to -163°C. This new marine fuel offers considerable environmental benefits.
The first ship to bunker LNG is the newly constructed tanker M/T Ternsund, operated by the Swedish Donsö-based company Tärntank Ship Management AB. Claes Möller, Fleet Manager at the company, is looking forward to tomorrow’s event with great anticipation.
Bunkering will take place at a protected location just off the island of Fotö at the entrance to the port. M/T Ternsund will bunker LNG from the Dutch bunkering vessel Coral Energy. The gas comes from the North Sea and has been supplied by the gas company Skangas.
M/T Ternsund may be the first, but there will soon be several ships looking to bunker LNG on a regular basis at the Port of Gothenburg. Around 10 newly built LNG-powered vessels are on their way from the shipyards, all owned by Swedish tanker operators and all with routes that pass Gothenburg.
To induce more operators to switch to LNG, the Port of Gothenburg has introduced a substantial discount on the port charge. M/T Ternsund will be the first ship to qualify for the maximum discount – 30 per cent.