The Zeebrugge LNG terminal performed its first loading of the newly built ice class vessel Coral EnergICE that will be making regular calls for delivering small-scale LNG to Scandinavian ports.
The Coral EnergICE is designed to operate in the sub-zero temperatures of the Baltic Sea during all weather conditions.
The vessel has a loading capacity of 18,000 cubic meters and is currently assigned to make year-round small-scale LNG deliveries to northern ports in Sweden and Finland.
Fluxys Belgium noted in its statement on Monday that due to its emission profile, demand for LNG as an alternative fuel for ships and long-haulage trucks continues to rise.
Today approximately 100 ships are using LNG as a fuel in Europe and their number is set to double by 2020 when more stringent sulphur emission standards come into force. The development of new infrastructure is in full swing to support this growth of the small-scale LNG market.
The Zeebrugge LNG terminal has been offering LNG trailer loading services since 2010. Small LNG vessels can load at the terminal since 2010 as well and the facility’s recently built second jetty is specially designed for loading also small LNG bunkering vessels. The latter supplies LNG to LNG-fuelled ships or small-scale LNG storages.
Fluxys Belgium’s parent company, Fluxys, is a partner in the bunker vessel Engie Zeebrugge, that operates from the Zeebruge as its home port. The company has also commenced LNG bunkering operations in the port of Antwerp.