Swiss company Axpo has signed a ten-year deal to charter an LNG bunkering vessel, under an agreement with Italy’s Gas and Heat SpA and the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard, both experienced in cryogenic storage and vessel conversions.
The ship is expected to begin operations in 2025 and will make an important contribution to the maritime industry’s green energy transition. The project will be implemented in Italy and will see – for the first time in Europe – the deployment of an innovative and sustainable technology for continuous ship-to-truck operations.
The vessel will be built at San Giorgio’s shipyard in Piombino, Italy, with a capacity of up to 7,500m3. In the future, the ship could also transport bio-LNG and ammonia, which is emerging as a zero-carbon fuel, particularly in the shipping sector.
Active off the coast of Naples, the vessel will provide ship-to-ship and ship-to-truck services. The Italian vessel will feature a flexible multi-truck bunkering skid mounted onboard to enable the loading of several trucks simultaneously, significantly reducing bunkering time. Proprietary to Gas and Hea, this will be the first use in Europe of the technology on continuous ship-to-truck operations. LNG bunkering vessels support the increasing use of LNG as a marine fuel, which plays an important role in decarbonisation and the transition to a more sustainable energy mix. The flagship project was set up in collaboration with the Italian government’s infrastructure and transport ministry, MIT, and the Central Tyrrhenian Sea and Naples port authorities.
Axpo Head of Continental Europe Merchant Trading Marco Saalfrank said: “The demand for sustainable solutions in the maritime industry continues to increase significantly, in line with the IMO strategy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. With the industry expected to achieve a reduction of up to 40% in the carbon intensity of shipping by 2030, the LNG bunkering solution will provide a cleaner marine fuel in the mid-term and beyond.”
Axpo Small Scale LNG Manager Daniele Corti said: “Together with Axpo Italia, we are pleased to be part of an important initiative that will help enable the transition to carbon neutrality and, for the first time in Europe, employ this new bunkering technology to supply markets with cleaner fuel.”
