The bunkering vessel ENGIE Zeebrugge performed in the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, its first deliveries of LNG as a marine fuel to Auto Eco and Auto Energy, two new gas-propelled pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) belonging to UECC. The LNG bunkering operations were conducted at the same time that the cargo operations for PCTCs were taking place.
ENGIE Zeebrugge, which is the world’s first purpose-built LNG bunkering vessel, arrived in Zeebrugge at the beginning of April after delivery from Hanjin Heavy Industries &, and a 38-day maiden voyage. It is now executing a weekly service to the PCTCs of UECC and is the world’s first LNG bunkering vessel to perform regular ship-to-ship bunkering services. ENGIE Zeebrugge loads LNG at Fluxys’ LNG terminal which recently commissioned its second jetty specifically designed for also receiving very small LNG carriers.
ENGIE Zeebrugge is jointly owned by ENGIE, Mitsubishi Corporation, NYK Line, and Fluxys. With an LNG capacity of 5,000 cu m, it will service all types of shipping customers in Northern Europe from its home port of Zeebrugge, under the brand Gas4Sea.
“The first ship-to-ship bunkering operations are a key milestone in the development of the nascent LNG bunkering market, which needs the collaboration of many stakeholders to gain a foothold: industrial companies, manufacturers, regulatory bodies, port authorities, and shipping companies,” ENGIE said in a release today.
