Germany’s port of Emden, operated by Niedersachsen Ports, hosted on Friday its first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation.
The 5.000-cbm LNG bunkering ship Engie Zeebrugge refueled the Volkswagen-chartered car carrier Siem Confucius.
The Siem Confucius received some 1000 metric tons of LNG via the STS transfer.
The car carrier had already visited Emden earlier this year to pick up its first batch of Volkswagen’s vehicles and depart on its maiden voyage.
It departed the port on June 16 reaching US Port of Davisville, Rhode Island on July 1.
In addition to its visit to Davisville, the car carrier stopped in Veracruz, Mexico prior to its return route to Emden.
The Siem Confucius is the first of two vessels built at China’s Xiamen Shipbuilding yard which will replace Volkswagen’s conventional heavy oil-powered ships.
Both ships have 13 car decks and the capacity to carry up to 4,800 Volkswagen vehicles at a time.
The vessels feature two LNG tanks with a capacity of 1,800 cubic meters, each.
Volkswagen will use both of the ships on the trans-Atlantic route, so-called America Round Tour, from Emden to Mexico.
The German giant previously said the second vessel Siem Aristotle would embark on its maiden voyage later this year.
