EMEA News
LNG Terminal Planned for Port of Hamburg
The Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co. KG (Bomin Linde) says it plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal for ship fueling at the Port of Hamburg.
The project will be the first for the company, which is a joint venture of the Linde AG and Bomin, a subsidiary of the Marquard & Bahls AG.
Based on a successful feasibility study by the Hamburg Port Authority and Linde, the project will be a small-scale LNG terminal on the premises of Oiltanking, another Marquard & Bahls subsidiary.
"We have to solve the chicken-and-egg problem when it comes to introducing a new fuel for shipping in Europe," said Mahinde Abeynaike, managing director of Bomin Linde.
"With Bomin Linde LNG as a reliable partner actually providing LNG as a fuel in strategically important ports, the construction of ships that are fuelled with LNG will experience a considerable boost."
There is strong interest in the LNG market because of both its ability to comply with new emission limits and the lower price for natural gas compared with oil, according to another Bomin Linde managing director, Ruben Benders.
In addition to helping arrange for new LNG infrastructure, the Hamburg Port Authority plans to be operating an LNG vessel by 2014.
Bomin and the Linde Group announced the creation of Bomin Linde in August, saying the Hamburg-based joint venture company will build an LNG infrastructure in Europe, establishing operations in key ports throughout the emissions control areas in Northwest Europe.
