FSUE Rosmorport and Gazpromneft Marine Bunker PJSC (operator of Gazprom Neft’s marine bunkering business) have signed a new agreement on cooperation in supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Rosmorport’s new vessels. The agreement foresees that Gazpromneft Marine Bunker will continue providing environmentally friendly fuel to bunker Rosmorport’s ferries operating on Ust-Luga – Kaliningrad line of Rosmorport. In 2023, Gazpromneft Marine Bunker will supply 10,000 tonnes of fuel for over 15 bunkering operations, Rosmorport says.
The first agreement between the companies was signed on 15 September 2022 at Saint-Petersburg International Gas Forum. 850 tonnes of LNG was contracted then.
Sergey Pylin, General Director of FSUE Rosmorport says that application of environmentally safe technologies at the phases of the fleet designing and operation is among the company’s priorities.
“Rosmorport continues ensuring uninterrupted connection of Kaliningrad with the mainland of Russia and cope with the load on the ferry line which increased in 2022. In the course of cooperation with Gazpromneft Marine Bunker in 2022, not only did we gain successful experience in the practical use of LNG as a fuel on ferries but also noted its advantages for the operation of ships. The use of liquefied natural gas reduces fuel costs, enhances environmental sustainability and safety of transportation in the Baltic Sea, which is strategically important for Russia amid the current geopolitical situation,” emphasized Sergey Pylin.
Regular supplies of LNG fuel for bunkering of the new Ro-Ro ferry, General Chernyakhovsky, under the partnership between Rosmorport and Gazpromneft Marine Bunker began in autumn 2022 involving LNG bunkering ship Dmitry Mendeleev. The ship ordered by Gazprom Neft is the only one in Russia able to conduct ship-to-ship bunkering with LNG. The first bunkering of the innovative ship was held in Ust-Luga on 15 October 2022.
By the end of 2022, the General Chernyakhovsky ferry was bunkered five times and it was bunkered one time in January 2023. The bunkering of the Marshall Rokossovsky ferry was held in the framework of the new agreement in January 2023.
The innovative dual-fuel ferries of Arc4 class were built by The Nevsky Shipyard LLC (part of The United Shipbuilding Corporation JSC) in cooperation with the Turkish shipyard The Kuzey Star Shipyard.