Repsol, Brittany ferries extend LNG supply deal

Brittany Ferries and Spanish energy giant Repsol have extended their agreement signed last February for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the ferry operator’s Spanish operations.

Under the agreement, the energy company will build two LNG bunker terminals at the ports of Bilbao and Santander, where Brittany Ferries conducts its Spanish operations. Each terminal will include an intermediate storage tank of 1,000 cubic meters to guarantee an uninterrupted supply, Repsol said in its statement.

Repsol will supply LNG bunker fuel to Brittany Ferries’ Salamanca and Santoña during the ships’ regular visits on routes linking Portsmouth, UK and northern Spain, beginning in 2022.

“Salamanca and Santoña will be our second and third LNG-powered vessels and the first to operate to and from northern Spain,” said Frédéric Pouget, fleet and operations manager Brittany Ferries.

Repsol’s wholesale & gas trading director, Laura Rejón Pérez added that the LNG bunker terminals in Bilbao and Santander will provide security of supply and flexibility.

Salamanca and Santoña will follow in the wake of Honfleur, currently under construction in Germany and due to enter service early 2020 as the second and third LNG-powered ships in Brittany Ferries’ fleet.