Port of Gothenburg said that, in collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam together with the Swedish Transport Agency, it has drafted new bunkering regulations for ships operating on LNG.
The regulations will allow cargo ships to bunker LNG at a cargo terminal and are the first general regulations to be introduced in Sweden, the port informed in a statement.
The regulations not only cover bunkering from land using a road truck but also from a bunker vessel, what is known as ship-to-ship bunkering. Requirements governing safety zones, weather, bunker vessels, receiving vessels, terminals and other aspects are included in the new operating regulations.
By next year, the Port of Gothenburg will be visited regularly by LNG-powered ships. Tanker operators Terntank, Furetank and Thun Tankers are all due to launch new ships that will be equipped to run on LNG.
“We expect to receive a visit from an LNG-powered ship once or twice a week next year and many will take the opportunity to bunker in Gothenburg,” Dan-Erik Andersson, Vice President Operations at the Port of Gothenburg Energy Port said.
For the time being, natural gas will come from terminals outside Gothenburg although eventually there will be an import terminal for LNG at the Port of Gothenburg.
At the turn of the year a new port tariff was introduced at the Port of Gothenburg, which means that LNG-powered ships will receive a 30 percent discount on the port charge when they visit the port. Over a year, this will amount to a significant sum for those that call on a regular basis.
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Image: Port of Gothenburg