Enagás subsidiary Scale Gas and Norwegian shipowner Knutsen presented the first LNG bunkering vessel built in Spain at the Barcelona Regasification Terminal. The ‘Haugesund Knutsen’, chartered by Shell Spain and built by Astilleros Armón Gijón, will be based at the Port of Barcelona.
“The construction of the ship is a step forward in meeting European decarbonization targets boosting LNG as a sustainable fuel in maritime transport,” said Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás. “This initiative is framed within a European project that Enagás is coordinating as part of LNGhive2 strategy, led by Puertos del Estado, aimed at promoting the development of the LNG market as sustainable marine fuel and ensuring supply in ports, in line with European Directive 94/2014 on alternative fuels.”
“The Haugesund Knutsen reaffirms Knutsen’s strategic line, which began 15 years ago with the Pioneer Knutsen, of betting on Small scale LNG as a tool to reinforce the use of LNG as a marine fuel and thus help in the target of decarbonization and improvement of the environment in Europe and the Mediterranean,” explained Knutsen’s Founder and Owner, Trygve Seglem.
Shell Spain Country Chair, Óscar Fernández, also commented: “The Haugesund Knutsen vessel, which today joins our global bunkering network, is a magnificent example of how collaboration between the different players in the sector, together with the support of public administrations, will make it possible to jointly achieve the decarbonization targets”.
“Having a ship like the ‘Haugesund Knutsen’ and the experience accumulated as partners in its design and construction further strengthens the positioning of the Port of Barcelona as a port for supplying alternative fuels and achieving the objective of reducing our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030,” added the President of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó.
The ‘Haugesund Knutsen’ has had its naming ceremony at the Port of Barcelona, where it will load and supply LNG as fuel to ships, as well as in adjacent areas. It will also serve more customers in the Mediterranean region, playing a key role in the region’s security of supply and boosting the use of LNG as the most environmentally friendly fuel for shipping today.
The vessel complies with all the safety measures established by the different EU regulations, has a storage capacity of 5,000 m3, with two bi-lobe tanks of 2,500 m3 each, and an LNG supply capacity of 1,000 m3/h. It has a length of 92.75 meters, a beam of 16.90 meters and a draught of 4.25 meters.
The construction of the barge is part of the European Union’s ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ (CEF) transport aid program, which has co-financed with nine million euros its implementation, and has been made possible thanks to the developments and progress achieved by the public-private initiatives ‘CORE LNGas hive’ and ‘LNGhive2’, involving 49 partners (21 public, including 13 port authorities, and 28 private or industrial).
Along with the commissioning of the ship, the adaptation of the small-scale jetty at the Enagás Regasification Terminal in Barcelona was also unveiled at this event. This adaptation of the jetty is one of the actions included in the Government’s +ES Plan (Plan Más Seguridad Energética – More Energy Security Plan).
Along these lines, Spain’s seven regasification terminals are already adapted to supply LNG to ships, as are most ports. In 2022, a total of 13 ports in Spain supplied LNG to ships.
Source: Enagás
