First LNG Shipment Arrives in Gibraltar for New Power Plant

The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment has arrived in Gibraltar for use in the British territory's new LNG-fuelled power station, a government statement said.

Gibraltar already supplies the most marine fuel of any port in the Mediterranean and aims to develop LNG bunkering facilities, using some of the infrastructure that has been set up for the new power station, officials have said.

The tanker Coral Methane, with a capacity of around 7,000 cubic metres, arrived at the port on the evening of Jan. 9, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.

"Over the weeks ahead, we will continue to test and evaluate all the systems in both the terminal and the power station," Jon Cortes, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change, said in a statement.

Tough new rules on marine fuel are forcing shipowners to explore liquefied natural gas as a cleaner alternative and ports such as Gibraltar are preparing to offer upgraded refuelling facilities in the shipping industry's biggest shake-up in decades. 

(Reuters, Reporting by Nina Chestney and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)