Poseidon Med II brings into reality sustainable shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean

LNG is currently the most proven safe and most reliable and efficient option for an alternative maritime fuel, Mr. Polychroniou notes and refers to recent studies that show LNG has a tested and proven technology which is improving rapidly.

SAFETY4SEA: Tell us a few words about Poseidon Med. What are its achievements and developments?

George Polychroniou: Poseidon Med II is a major European Action aiming at promoting the adoption of LNG as a marine fuel in the East Mediterranean while establishing Greece as an international marine bunkering and distribution hub for the broader region. Poseidon Med II was based on 17 separate Activities that covered all components, necessary for the establishment of an efficient supply chain in the region, including supply, demand and the respective regulatory framework. The project, which started in mid-2015 and runs till the end of 2021, was co-funded through the EU’s funding mechanism «Connecting Europe Facility” (CEF), with an overall budget of almost 53.3 million Euro. DEPA Commercial was assigned the role of Coordinator and the Action involved three countries -Greece, Cyprus and Italy-and 26 stakeholders from the private and public sector, including 6 major ports -4 in Greece, 1 in Cyprus and 1 in Italy.

To summarize the Action’s results;

• First, a SSLNG supply chain is being realized, for which the region’s largest LNG terminal – Revithoussa – will constitute the starting-point. Specifically, developments are underway to ensure that a truck loading station and a new ssLNG jetty to serve smaller feeder/bunkering vessels (of capacity between 1,000 to 20,000 m3) will be in place and operating by the first half of 2022 and 2023 respectively.
• Second, for 5 Core ports – 4 in Greece: Piraeus, Igoumenitsa, Herakleio and Patras, as well the Limassol port in Cyprus – the technical studies required for the provision of LNG bunkering services have been carried out.
• Third, Poseidon Med II contributed decisively to the preparation of the regulatory framework needed for safe LNG Bunkering operations in Greek ports and has been enacted with the respective Presidential Decree in 2019.
• Fourth, the Action has completed designs for both the retrofit and new build LNG fuelled vessels, as well as designs for LNG bunkering vessels.
• Fifth, as a result of PMII, an innovative LNG bunkering vessel with a Semi – Ballastable system has been constructed and will operate in the Adriatic Sea.
• Sixth, as a result of the Action, stakeholders and the general public are currently much more informed about the merits of LNG as a marine fuel and its key contribution towards the realization of sustainable shipping.

S4S: Why Poseidon Med II has a special importance for our region?

G.P.: Through its Activities Poseidon Med II gives our region the opportunity to turn into a bunkering hub, narrowing in this respect the gap with regions in other parts of Europe, thereby enhancing its development prospects. The Action optimized key infrastructure and notably Greece’s Revithoussa LNG terminal and the Port of Piraeus. As a result of PM II, apart from representing the largest LNG terminal in the region and the EU’s largest passenger port as well as one of the largest container ports, Revithoussa and Piraeus will also constitute vital elements of the new supply chain for LNG bunkering in the region. Moreover, Poseidon Med II has increased prospects for the further development of Greece’s smaller, but strategically important regional ports; it also creates opportunities for the new LNG FSRU in Cyprus, which should be ready by the end of next year – and potentially to Greece’s planned second LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis. Also, by promoting the establishment of an LNG supply chain, Poseidon Med II facilitates the shift of the region’s (Greece’s, Italy’s and Cyprus’s) important shipping fleet to LNG and a more sustainable future.

Poseidon Med II Supply Chain: the link to the LNG era in the Eastern Mediterranean

S4S: What is your key message to industry stakeholders with respect to a more sustainable future in maritime sector? 

G.P.:The need to transform the maritime sector is becoming vital for several reasons; Apart from the increasingly stringent IMO standards and the prospect of the Mediterranean being designated as an Emission Control Area (ECA), the EU’s “Fit for 55” package is also making the sector’s shift to becoming more sustainable unavoidable. Namely, the objective of the Fuel EU Maritime Initiative, the revised ETS, as well as the Energy Taxation Directive, including a new taxation on marine fossil fuels is to ensure that shipping keeps up with the drive towards the decarbonization of all key economic activities. One of the effects of this drive is that funding is becoming ever-more conditional on compliance with environmental targets. I am referring here for example to the Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) reporting obligations, the Poseidon principles and to the point that the maritime sector may be included in the EU’s taxonomy rules. Therefore, it is clear that shipping has to take initiatives towards a more sustainable future. Another factor, adding to the momentum towards sustainable measures is the role of cargo owners. These will be requesting greater environmental performance from their carriers, who will select shippers increasingly based on rankings of environmental performance of shipping companies.

S4S: What makes LNG a good choice for maritime decarbonization? What are its key advantages in comparison to other alternative fuels? What is your advice to ship operators?

G.P.: LNG is currently the most proven safe and most reliable and efficient option for an alternative maritime fuel, facilitating compliance with IMO and EU rules thereby enhancing the sector’s long-term viability. This is because LNG has the lowest greenhouse gas emission rates compared to other fuels while at the same time being available at large quantities able to meet the demand of the maritime sector.

According to recent studies, through the use of LNG, emissions are reduced by up to 20% on a well-to-wake basis and up to 30% on a tank-to-wake basis in comparison with fuels based on oil. LNG has a tested and proven technology which is improving rapidly. Thirdly, LNG bunkering facilities are on the rise worldwide, while in the Eastern Mediterranean Poseidon Med II laid the foundations for a viable, efficient and sustainable supply chain in the region that secures LNG availability with competitive prices. The advantages of LNG as a marine fuel are being recognized. According to Sea-LNG, there are now around 230 LNG fuelled ships operating; and other 400 are on order. Also bunkering facilities are becoming increasingly available. Today 96 ports can supply LNG, with a further 55 ports in the process of facilitating LNG bunkering investments and operations. With Poseidon Med II and thanks to the developments at the Revithoussa LNG terminal, bunkering facilities will also be available in the East Mediterranean. Finally, I should note that investing in LNG today also provides a solution to comply with anticipated zero-carbon goals. This is due to the fact that in its renewable forms ( bio-LNG and synthetic LNG) LNG is zero-carbon. These options, which can be increasingly blended-in with LNG can be used with the facilities and infrastructure for LNG and that is promoted by Poseidon Med II. Therefore, I would strongly advise the ship-owners’ community to make the shift to LNG as their fuel of choice for the coming years in order to enhance their fleet’s cost efficiency and compliance with environmental standards

S4S: Do you have any plans/ projects/ initiatives to further support green shipping that you would like to share?

G.P.: In fact, from 2022 onwards, the focus will be on the BlueHUBS project which aims at promoting LNG bunkering in the region mainly through the development of two LNG bunkering vessels for Greece and Cyprus. In the framework of BlueHUBS, DEPA Commercial is moving forward with an investment of paramount importance for the further promotion of the use of LNG in the entire Eastern Mediterranean region, and Greece’s elevation to the status of an international LNG bunkering hub. This investment involves in effect the construction of an LNG bunkering vessel (4,000 m3 capacity), aiming to refuel ships in Piraeus as well as in other ports in Greece.

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The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.