Axpo bolsters LNG bunkering business with operations at second Spanish port

Switzerland-based renewable energy producer Axpo has conducted its first LNG ship-to-ship delivery in the Port of Algeciras in Spain.

As informed, the operation was completed using the 2021-built 7,500 cubic meter (cbm) small-scale LNG vessel Avenir Aspiration to transfer approximately 5,000 cbm of LNG to Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) containership Mariacristina.

The latest delivery marks the expansion of Axpo’s LNG bunkering operations to a second Spanish port, following the ship-to-ship bunkering in the port of Málaga last month.

To remind, Axpo supplied a containership owned by MSC with around 5,8000 cbm of LNG in what was described as the ‘inaugural’ ship-to-ship LNG transfer for the Málaga port as well as the ‘first’ simultaneous operations (SimOps) in Spain for a containership.

Axpo’s Head of Small-Scale LNG, Daniele Corti, commented on the operation: “This successful delivery marks another important milestone for our LNG bunkering business. By expanding our operations to a second port in Spain, we continue to implement Axpo’s ambitious small-scale LNG growth strategy and strengthen our presence as a reliable LNG partner.”

Spain represents a ‘particularly significant’ market for Axpo, which plans to expand its services to other major ports in the country, like Valencia and Barcelona. The company’s small-scale LNG offering in Spain is set to be facilitated by two units, boasting a 7,500 cbm and a 12,500 cbm capacity, respectively.

To remind, back in August 2023, Axpo signed a ten-year charter deal for a 7,500 cbm LNG bunkering vessel capable of transporting bio-LNG and ammonia with Italy’s Gas and Heat SpA and the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard, both players in the fields of cryogenic storage and vessel conversion.

More recently, Axpo Iberia and compatriot ferry operator Baleària completed the first bioLNG bunkering operations at the two Enagás terminals in Huelva and Barcelona. As informed, the Huelva terminal supplied the Port of Málaga, where Baleària operates the Rusadir, an electric and dual gas-powered ferry, while bio-LNG was supplied from the Barcelona terminal to the 2024-delivered Margarita Salas.