Nauticor Extends its LNG Supply Network
Nauticor has extended its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply network for ships within the North Sea region and has now begun delivering to maritime customers in the Port of Rotterdam. The Dutch port is the latest location added to the firm’s LNG distribution network, adding to a growing portfolio of one of the leading suppliers of LNG as fuel for ships.
The premier bunker operation by Nauticor in the Port of Rotterdam saw the containership Wes Amelie, owned by Wessels Reederei based in Haren/Ems, receive the chilled fuel. In total, the vessel received six truck loads, which is equal to 120 tons of LNG, during the bunker operation that took place on the 20th of February 2018.
Nauticor is currently in charge of organizing LNG supply for the vessel, which is currently chartered with Unifeeder A/S and operates as a feeder vessel between Rotterdam and various ports in the Baltic Sea region, throughout Germany, and to the Dutch Port of Moerdijk. Nauticor has now for the first time been awarded the contract for a bunker operation in Rotterdam. Therefore, Sonja Neßhöver, Director of the LNG Portfolio of Nauticor, confidently stated: „We are happy to have been chosen to continue supporting this pioneering project and are looking forward to enhancing our cooperation in the future. We are continuously working on optimizing the LNG supply for ships and feel well-prepared for more bunker operations at this location. Another important milestone for the development of the LNG supply infrastructure in North & Baltic Seas will be our new LNG bunker vessel, which will be put into operation before the end of this year.“
During its first bunker operation in the Port of Rotterdam, the experts from Nauticor set a new record for the speed of a bunker operation with an unloading rate of up to 40 tons of LNG per hour. To achieve this, the Nauticor team used its innovative bunkering technique where two LNG trucks are unloaded simultaneously, which has now been successfully applied several times and allows for significant time savings.
Lars Höglund, Managing Director of the Swedish shipping company and LNG pioneer Furetank, said, "As a front runner in the use of LNG as fuel for ships we welcome the initiative taken by Nauticor to improve the availability of LNG by ship and truck in the North & Baltic Sea. We encourage all parties, including shipping companies, LNG supplier and the responsible authorities, to work together and ensure comprehensive, efficient, and safe LNG bunker operations."