Switzerland’s Axpo has completed its first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation with its chartered vessel Avenir Aspiration. Axpo bunkered MSC’s LNG dual-fuel containership in the Spanish port of Malaga.
This was the first STS LNG bunkering delivery for Axpo and the first such operation in the port of Malaga.
Axpo chartered Avenir LNG’s 7,500-cbm LNG bunkering and supply vessel, Avenir Aspiration.
In Axpo’s first delivery to MSC, the firm supplied roughly 2,800 metric tonnes of LNG, Axpo said in a statement last week.
Axpo’s new small-scale LNG offering in Spain will be facilitated by two vessels – a 7,500-cbm and a 12,500-cbm ship, the firm said without providing further details.
In addition to bunkering, Axpo will be able to offer small-scale break-bulk deliveries and gas up and cool-down services.
Whilst starting operations in the port of Malaga, a well-known destination for commercial maritime traffic, Axpo will also offer its services in other Spanish terminals such as Algeciras, Valencia, and Barcelona, the company said.
In 2023, Axpo joined forces with Italy’s Gas and Heat and the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard to deploy a small-scale LNG bunkering vessel off the coast of Naples.
The renewable energy producer and trader signed a ten-year deal with the two firms to charter the LNG bunkering vessel and it expects the ship to begin operations in 2025.
Axpo is active across the midstream and downstream natural gas and LNG sector in Switzerland and abroad, including trading and transporting gas across Europe.
Its LNG customers range from small and medium-sized enterprises to large energy-intensive industrial companies.
In December 2024, Axpo announced that it had delivered its 100th cargo of LNG to Europe.
The firm delivered these LNG cargoes between January 2020 and September 2024, with the bulk going to terminals in Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal.
