Finland’s Port of Helsinki releases LNG bunkering manual

The Port of Helsinki announced on Tuesday that, in response to liquefied natural gas becoming an increasingly popular marine fuel, it has published instructions for the safe LNG bunkering of ships.

With the expansion of the sulphur emission control area of the Baltic Sea, LNG is becoming an increasingly attractive option, and one that also complies with the restrictions on nitrogen emissions that will enter into force in the Baltic Sea as of the start of 2021, the Port noted in its statement.

The Port says that in an attempt to boost the adoption of LNG as fuel, it prepared the LNG safety manual in collaboration with the consulting company SSPA and Finnish authorities last winter.

The document details the minimum requirements for shipping companies and LNG suppliers that wish to bunker LNG at the Finnish Port.

LNG bunkering has been conducted at the Port of Helsinki since the summer of 2014, when the Finnish Border Guard’s offshore patrol vessel Turva was completed.

The vessel’s primary bunkering place is in Vuosaari, and the bunkering has proceeded without any problems from day one, the statement reads.

The latest LNG ship to operate out of the Port of Helsinki is the Tallink Shuttle Megastar, which operates on the Helsinki–Tallinn route.

Megastar is refuelled at the West Harbour five times a week. The ship’s turnaround times are very short, as a result of which the refuelling must be conducted precisely, swiftly and safely, the statement added.