Balearia leads Spanish LNG bunkering surge

Shipping firm Balearia says it carried out almost all of the record LNG bunkering operations in Spain last year.

To remind, Enagas and Gasnam data recently showed that Spanish ports hosted last year a total of 741 LNG ship bunkering operations, nearly four times more than the year before.

Baleria said on Monday it completed a total of 714 of these last year involving its six LNG-powered ferries. This represents 96% of all LNG fueling operations carried out in Spain during 2020.

In addition, Balearia’s vessels received a total of 83,643 cubic meters of LNG.

The LNG-powered vessels include two newbuilds, Marie Curie and Hypatia de Alejandría, but also four retrofits, namely Abel Matutes, Sicilia, Naples and Bahama Mama.

Balearia mostly used a truck-to-ship method with multiple vehicles supplying LNG to its ferries.

Furhermore, Baleria said it secured last year licenses to supply LNG in the ports of Denia, Almería, Malaga, Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Huelva, while in Algeciras the shipping firm needed specific authorizations.

Valencia leads with 291 operations, followed by Barcelona that carried out 219.

Balearia is currently the only ferry operator in Spain with a fleet of LNG-powered vessels.

The firm aims to have nine LNG-powered vessels by the end of 2021 with a total investment of 380 million euros ($461m).

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