EMEA News
Gazprom Germania Carries Out First LNG Bunkering at Rostock
Gazprom Group subsidiary, Gazprom Germania GmbH (Gazprom Germania) Wednesday announced that it carried out its first bunkering of a ship with liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the port of Rostock, Germany.
In the early hours of the morning of February 27th, 2016, the M.V. Greenland, a 110-metre cement carrier operated by the Norwegian shipping company KGJ Cement AS, was the first vessel bunkered.
The LNG was transported to Rostock by road tanker and comes after negotiations between Gazprom Germania, the port of Rostock and the local regulatory authority worked out the legal and operative framework necessary to conduct bunkering operations.
"We believe there is a great deal of potential in the maritime sector. Climate-friendly natural gas could replace thousands of tonnes of heavy fuel oil every year," said Timo Vehrs, Director of Business Development at Gazprom Germania.
"We have now taken a crucial first step in Rostock, where this bunkering operation has shown that the vision of using LNG as bunker fuel has already become a reality."
Jens Aurel Scharner, managing director of the company that manages the port, Hafen-Entwicklungsgesellschaft Rostock mbH, noted, "We are very pleased to witness this new development at our port. We are certain that the opportunity to bunker alternative fuels like LNG will play its part in making us more competitive and encouraging more environmentally friendly ships to call in Rostock."
Gazprom also noted the January 2015 tightening of Emissions Control Area (ECA) regulations to a 0.1 percent sulfur content for marine fuel had led the 2014 signing of a memorandum of understanding with the port of Rostock to cooperate in the LNG market with Gazprom Group.
In July 2014 Ship & Bunker reported that Gazprom had signed the deal to do bunkering on the Baltic Sea.
