The Port of Rotterdam is about to experience its first ship-to-ship (STS) LNG refueling in June, which will be an important milestone in the use of the cleaner fuel in the shipping industry.
The STS refuelling will makes cleaner fuel more accessible to shippers, Cees Boon, senior safety adviser at the Port of Rotterdam, was cited as saying by Reuters.
The first vessels that will be refueled with LNG through the STS operations in June, will be short-haul sea vessels. After that, LNG-fueled cruise ships will follow in November and then larger deep-sea vessels by the end of 2019.
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As far as short-haul LNG-fueled vessels are concerned, this development is important, as these ships have so far only been able to refuel with LNG in Rotterdam via truck-to-ship transfers while they are at the dock.
Rotterdam is trying to promote the use of LNG as a marine fuel. In fact, during 2017 the Port sold 1,500 tonnes of LNG bunker fuels, while the year before that it had sold just 100 tonnes.
