Italian energy firm Edison, a unit of EDF, has completed the first ship-to-ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation in the Italian port of Trieste in the Adriatic Sea.
Edison claims this is the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation in the Adriatic Sea.
It is also the first bunkering operation to be carried out by Edison with the 30,000-cbm small-scale LNG carrier, Ravenna Knutsen, it said.
Edison has been using this small-scale LNG vessel since 2021 under a charter contract with Knutsen to deliver LNG to the small-scale LNG terminal in the port of Ravenna.
During the LNG bunkering operation in the port of Trieste, Ravenna Knutsen delivered LNG to the LNG-powered Nova class cruise vessel, Silver Ray, according to a video by Edison.
In May, Germany’s Meyer Werft handed over this second LNG-powered Nova class cruise vessel to Silversea Cruises, the ultra-luxury brand of Royal Caribbean Group.
Edison said this bunkering operation marks the start of “more” ship-to-ship bunkering operations in the port of Trieste for the 2024 summer season.
The company also said it is developing a second coastal LNG terminal in Southern Italy and a second LNG carrier ready for bunkering operations.
The number of LNG-powered vessels in operation and on order continues to grow and the global LNG-fueled fleet will rise to 1058 vessels by 2028, according to DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight platform.
There are now 559 LNG-powered ships in operation and 499 LNG-fueled vessels on order, the data shows.
Besides LNG-powered vessels, there are 56 LNG bunkering vessels in operation and 14 on order.