EU-Funded SamueLNG Project Marks Kick Off, Pushes for Sustainable Shipping Through LNG Bunkers

SamueLNG has initiated a project intended to improve the sustainability of marine industry through the use of LNG bunkers.

The S/F SamueLNG Consortium (SamueLNG) has announced the start of the first phase of a project intended to improve the sustainability of marine industry through the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an "environmentally-friendly and cost-effective" alternative to conventional bunkers for small vessels.

The project, called "Towards a Blue Atlantic Arch by 2025," is said to be aimed at supporting the objectives of two key European Union (EU) Directives, including Directive 2014/94/EU on the sustainability of the European maritime transport, and Directive 2012/33/EU on reduction in the sulfur content of marine fuels.

Over the next three years, the EU-funded SamueLNG Project is slated to undertake a number of tasks, including the LNG-capable dual-fuel engine retrofit of Dragages Ports' (DP's) 8,500m3 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger Samuel de Champlain, and LNG bunkering studies that include a risk assessment in the port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire, as well as the development of a mobile bunkering unit in the Port of Gijon and a floating device in the Port of Vigo.

Further, the project will see the environmental impact assessment studies conducted for the Ports of Rouen, Le Havre, and Nantes Saint-Nazaire, and the training of staff involved in LNG operations at the Ports of Nantes Saint-Nazaire and Rouen, as well as dissemination of the results to the maritime community by CEDA.

"The S/F SamueLNG Project started work in earnest, at the meeting in Gijon, Spain, to agree schedules which will be disseminated to all interested parties in due course," explained the consortium.

"The EU tendering process, to choose the shipyard that will carry out the LNG conversion, will begin soon."