On 5th November, the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation took place in Estonia, by Elenger Marine.
This involved Tallink’s shuttle ferry ‘Megastar’, which sails between Tallinn and Helsinki. She was bunkered by ‘Optimus’ at the Old City Harbour of Tallinn.
“Ship-to-ship bunkering of LNG has not been done in Estonian ports before, but our team has the relevant experience and thorough training, and everything went smoothly and safely as planned,” said Kento Tamm, ‘Optimus’’ Master.
“Most of the systems on the ship are duplicated and the risk is minimised, also the LNG fuel itself is among the safest – each year we see more and more LNG bunker ships working in ports and at sea,” he added.
“’Optimus’ significantly simplifies the bunkering of ‘Megastar’ – much larger amount of LNG can be bunkered from a ship at once, from trailers we used to bunker several times a week, now only once is enough. In addition to the sea, the air will also become cleaner on roads and in ports, as ‘Optimus’ itself also operates on LNG fuel,” said Tarvink-Carlos Tuulik, Tallink Master.
“Shipping is looking for new environmentally friendly solutions globally and is switching to liquefied natural gas today. The LNG bunker vessel operating in our area adds certainty that ships under design and under construction will be able to use LNG as fuel here.
“For ship operators, the gas tanker means, above all, security of supply of this more environmentally friendly fuel and ease of use, as well as time savings,” he said.
LNG has a very high energy content and is used in energy production, land and sea transport. It is an environmentally friendly type of fuel that allows to significantly reduce the content of CO2, NOx, SOx in the exhaust gas and produces practically no soot particles at all.
‘Optimus’ serves the Gulf of Finland area of the Baltic Sea and its immediate surroundings. The LNGBV is capable of bunkering tankers, cargo, passenger and cruise ships, both at sea and in ports, enabling it to deliver up to 6,000 cu m of LNG at up to 1,000 cu m per hour.
