Barge Bunkers LNG: First Ever in Port of Antwerp

The motorized barge 'Argonon' owned by Deen Shipping, was fuelled-up from a truck in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium.

This operation represents a further significant step towards more environment-friendly shipping in the port of Antwerp. Antwerp Port Authority continues to lend support to those seeking to switch to this more environment-friendly fuel, and so to make the logistics chain yet more sustainable.

As part of its sustainability policy, Antwerp Port Authority seeks not only to facilitate but also to encourage the use of LNG as a fuel for ships and barges. Indeed it has undertaken to make LNG available in the port in a safe, efficient manner, in the same way as is already done for conventional fuels. The target date for this is 2015, when the stricter IMO sulphur standards come into force.

With a view to LNG bunkering the Port Authority carried out a study to determine the safety perimeters and the procedures for truck-to-ship transfer. It has also drawn up bunker checklists and guidelines for such innovative bunkering operations, in collaboration with the LNG workgroup of the World Ports Climate Initiative, for which Antwerp is acting as “lead port.”

Apart from the safety aspects of bunkering, an investigation was carried out into the possible effects on external safety in the port area and in the vicinity of waterways. The conclusion was that the use of LNG as a fuel would have a minimal impact on the safety of shipping traffic on the Western Scheldt (i.e. the lower Scheldt estuary).