Shell wraps up first LNG bunkering in Gibraltar

Global energy giant Shell completed its first LNG bunkering services at the Port of Gibraltar.

Shell-chartered LNG bunker vessel Coral Methane supplied LNG to Lomonosov Prospect, an Aframax tanker operated by Sovcomflot.

This is also an important milestone for the Port of Gibraltar and its LNG bunkering activity.

The minister for the Port, Hon Vijay Daryanani said: “This further sets down a marker that the Port of Gibraltar is at the forefront of the drive for greater sustainability and improved environmental performance of the maritime industry internationally, and highlights the key strengths of the port, namely our adaptability and responsiveness to the wider trends developing within the industry… This is a further step towards a greener Gibraltar.”

General manager of Shell Global Downstream LNG Tahir Faruqui added: “This is another great milestone for the expansion of LNG as a maritime fuel globally. The start-up of this location means the fuelling requirements of tankers which operate on less predictable routes are increasingly being met.”

To remind, Shell has built Gibraltar’s first LNG facility in 2018 a total capacity of 5,000 cubic metres. The company submitted an application for this LNG bunker license in 2019. The Government of Gibraltar confirmed its approval in January 2021.