Port of Gothenburg’s car terminal hosts its ‘first-ever’ LNG bunkering

The Port of Gothenburg has marked the completion of the ‘first-ever’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation at its Logent car terminal, marking the next step of the entity’s efforts within the sphere of alternative fuels.

As disclosed, the operation was performed on March 10, 2025. The ship that was powered up with this clean fuel was the 200-meter-long Höegh Sunlight, a multi-fuel Aurora-class pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) owned by Norway’s Höegh Autoliners.

According to the port, the LNG bunkering was a multi-partner initiative, comprising efforts from Norway’s Höegh Autoliners, the port of Gothenburg, Finland-based energy company Gasum, the Swedish Transport Agency, Logent Ports & Terminals, Scandinavian Shipping & Logistics, consulting firm Maflobe as well as Gasum’s long-term partner, the Gothenburg-headquartered Sirius Shipping.

To transfer the liquefied natural gas to the 9,100 CEU Höegh Sunlight, Gasum said it deployed the 2017-built LNG bunker ship Coralius, hailed as the “first European-built LNG bunker and distribution vessel”, which the Finnish energy sector player has been chartering from Sirius for the past seven years, approximately.

As per the Port of Gothenburg, Coralius was designed to run on LNG, a fossil fuel that emits far fewer carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants compared to conventional marine fuels. It was disclosed that plans are underway to also introduce liquefied biogas (LBG, or bio-LNG) at the port.

LBG is a fossil-free alternative said to reduce emissions to a ‘great’ degree, as shown in a 2020 trial when Norwegian conglomerate Orkla’s transport partner GDL switched to liquefied biogas to test the effects of using such an energy source for one month.

Following the trial, Orkla, together with partners Gasum and Volvo Trucks, revealed that a CO2 reduction of 90% was achieved, while a 25% decrease in fuel costs compared to renewable diesel was reportedly shown.

While the trial was focused on land-based transportation, Gasum and its partners have been looking into the further application of fuels like bio-LNG within the sphere of maritime transportation, as well.