Port of Marseille Fos looking to become LNG bunkering hub

France’s Marseille Fos port is boosting the use of liquefied natural gas as fuel as it aims to position itself as an LNG bunkering hub for the Mediterranean.

The port said in a statement it hosted another ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation last week following the first such operation in early May.

LNG giant Shell and the world’s largest cruise operator Carnival carried out the second LNG bunkering operation in the port on June 15 supplying fuel to the 2019-delivered cruise ship Costa Smeralda.

The vessel operated by Carnival’s Costa Cruises is one of the world’s first LNG-powered cruise ships.

Shell supplied the fuel to the cruise ship via Anthony Veder’s converted LNG bunkering vessel Coral Methane.

The French port says this bunkering operation is a part of efforts to position itself as an LNG bunkering hub.

The French port will as of 2021 have a dedicated LNG bunkering vessel Total chartered from Japan’s MOL.

This is the second vessel China’s Hudong Zhonghua shipyard is building for the duo.

The first LNG bunkering vessel Total chartered from MOL to serve its CMA-CGM supply deal will also call at the Marseille Fos port.

Both of the vessels have a capacity of 18,600 cubic meters with a length of about 135 meters.

The French port is also a part of the Society for Gas as a Marine
Fuel (SGMF) and says it is fully supporting the Society’s efforts of promoting LNG as fuel and developing standards.

SGMF’s data shows there are 185 LNG-powered ships in operation worldwide and 213 on order.