For the first time a seagoing vessel has bunkered LNG in the Port of Antwerp. LNG bunker vessel FlexFueler 001 of Dutch Titan LNG supplied the fuel to chemical tanker Ramelia.
The Ramelia has sailed for the Swedish Gothia Alliance (treated by Vopak Agencies) since September 2019. The bunkering operation took place near quay 512 at the jetty of SEA-Tank Terminal in the Kanaaldok. Titan LNG received a licence to supply LNG in the Port of Antwerp in 2019. The FlexFueler 001 is the company’s first LNG bunker ship. The FlexFueler 002 will be christened later this year and will supply shipping throughout the Antwerp port area with LNG, with quay 526 as its fixed base.
LNG ready terminals
Although bunkering is an operation between the supplying bunker ship and the receiving merchant ship, the terminals are also an involved party. In order to ensure that terminals will soon be able to give themselves the unofficial title of “LNG ready terminal”, Port of Antwerp is focusing this spring on guiding and informing the terminals to make them comfortable with LNG bunkering.
By being the first to facilitate an LNG bunkering operation at its jetty, SEA-Tank Terminal is taking on a pioneering role for the port of Antwerp, which is expected to be followed soon by the other terminals in the port.
