LNG-fueled Ireland first to bunker at Port of Brunsbüttel

LNG-fueled cement carrier, Ireland, became the first vessel to bunker liquefied natural gas in the Elbe port of Brunsbüttel.

The port performed its first ever trial filling of an LNG tank wagon belonging to VTG at the Elbe port in Brunsbüttel in April last year, the port said in its statement.

The Ireland, a cement tanker built by the Dutch shipbuilder Ferus Smit for JT cement, a joint venture between Erik Thun and KG Jebsen Cement from Norway, completed the first commercial operation on January 28.

The ship was traveling from the UK to the port of Brunsbüttel. The port said in its statement that the shipping company had commissioned a Berlin-based firm to provide LNG obtained from Eni, and carried out the operation in cooperation with GasCom Equipment. The vessel was bunkered with around 19 tons of LNG by a truck-to-ship method.

Speaking of the event Frank Schnabel, managing director of Brunsbüttel Ports, part of Schramm Group, said the Elbe port of Brunsbüttel has been presented as a suitable LNG bunker location, including for regular freight transport ships, as the port assumes that the demand for LNG bunkering will increase notably over the coming years.