Swedegas, the owner of the gas grid in Sweden, conducted the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation at its new facility at the Port of Gothenburg.
Gothenburg-based shipping company Terntank was the very first operator to take on LNG at a new bunkering facility, said the Swedish owner and operator of the high-pressure gas grid.
Not only liquefied natural gas, LNG, but also liquefied biogas, LBG, it added.
“Being able to offer this unique opportunity represents a major breakthrough, not only in facilitating the transition to LNG, but also in gradually increasing the proportion of renewable gas,” said Johan Zettergren, Chief Executive of Swedegas, which owns and runs the facility.
The facility is the only one of its kind in Sweden, it claimed. Designed from the very outset to handle both LNG and LBG, which in terms of chemical composition are largely identical, makes the new facility flexible to meet the transition of the shipping sector.
“LNG is the first step. The ambition to increase the volume of biogas has taken a new turn, as this technology and related infrastructure work equally well for both gases,” said Tryggve Möller, CEO of Terntank Ship Management, which has invested in LNG-powered vessels chartered by NEOT. “We are delighted to be working with companies that are driving the industry forward and with a firm focus on promoting clean shipping."
The LNG and LBG that was bunkered at the facility was supplied by the Norwegian company Barents NaturGass, which has long, solid experience of gas distribution.
“We are looking forward to being part of this unique concept where we can offer customers both LNG and LBG,” said Gudrun Rollefsen, CEO at Barents NaturGass.
The LBG was produced by FordonsGas at its facility in Lidköping north of Gothenburg.
“A green energy wave is gathering momentum in the marine sector, and we are looking forward to being part of this pioneering venture and continuing our close and fruitful collaboration,” said Emil Glimåker, FordonsGas Chief Executive.
The facility is the first in Sweden that allows tankers to bunker from a fixed pipeline as they load and discharge, reducing the turnaround time considerably.