For a start, Fosmax LNG is investing to adapt its Fos Cavaou terminal to receive small LNG refuelling carriers from mid-2019 in a service offering 50 slots a year.
Elengy, on the other hand, is planning an extension at the Fos Tonkin terminal to provide 100 loading slots a year for small refuelling vessels from 2021.
The work underway follows a master plan developed between March to July this year that detailed the investment schedule and possible operational methods to enable implementation within a short time frame.
Two solutions have been confirmed as feasible, namely the rapid development of refuelling facilities via trucks, which initially would serve ferries and then continue as an option if refuelling vessels were unavailable, and the putting of one or more refuelling vessels in place to serve cruise, ferry and container vessels.
Read more: Global bunkering infrastructure still needed to make LNG viable as a marine fuel
Back in late-2017, the Marseille Fos port authority set up a working group to examine relevant logistical options for supporting the promotion of LNG as an environmentally friendly marine fuel. The group included shipowners, managers of the two LNG terminals in Fos, and Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions.
The port authority said that a shared vision of the working group is to establish a sustainable economic sector and lead to concrete measures for reducing the emissions of all port traffic.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
