Energy company Gasum has entered into an agreement with the City of Vaasa, NLC Ferry Oy and Wärtsilä Finland to supply LNG to Wasaline.
Wasaline operates the Vaasa/Umeå ferry route and is building an LNG fuelled ropax – ‘Aurora Botnia’. Gasum will also supply LNG to Wärtsilä’s new Smart Technology Hub.
As part of the plan, the company will build an LNG customer terminal in Vaskiluoto, Vaasa from where trucks will transport the LNG to customer sites.
From Vaskiluoto, Gasum will supply LNG to cargo and passenger shipping company Wasaline’s new LNG-fuelled ferry ‘Aurora Botnia’, which is due to start operating later this year, and to Wärtsilä’s Smart Technology Hub, a centre for research, product development and engineering, which will be completed this Autumn.
Gasum will also be able to serve other customers through the terminal.
“In the City of Vaasa’s Energy and Climate programme, the ambition is for the city to be carbon-neutral in the 2020s. The city is committed to the goal of reducing emissions between different actors in the urban area. It’s good news that this co-operation helps us to increase the availability of gas across the Vaasa region.
“Our co-operation is also an example of how we in Vaasa are combining our expertise in the energy industry and creating cleaner energy solutions,” said Tomas Häyry, Mayor of Vaasa.
“It’s good news that an LNG customer terminal is to be built in Vaskiluoto. We believe that the use of liquefied natural gas will increase both on land and at sea and that demand for more environmentally friendly fuels will show further growth. At Wärtsilä’s Vaasa site, we develop LNG engines and other maritime innovations, for example,” added Vesa Riihimäki, Director, Delivery Management, Wärtsilä Finland.
”The new ferry, ‘Aurora Botnia’, which will operate the Vaasa/Umeå route, is nearing completion. Our ship will be the most eco-friendly passenger and car ferry currently under construction. The ship’s engines will run on liquefied natural gas and moving forward also on renewable biogas.
“The ferry will accommodate 800 passengers and have a cargo capacity of 1,500 lane metres for trucks and cars. Sustainability is increasingly important to our customers and also to the entire Vaasa region,” said Peter Ståhlberg, Wasaline CEO.
“We are continuously developing new ways to reduce emissions together with our partners and customers. We want to help our customers to lower their own carbon footprint. Gas delivers significant cost-effective options to reach emission reductions both in maritime and road transport.
“This project will strengthen availability and enable customers to smoothly switch to using biogas,” explained Tommy Mattila, Sales director, Industry, Gasum.
