Huge increase in Barcelona LNG bunkering

LNG bunkering increased by two-thirds in Spain's Barcelona in 2021, says Port de Barcelona authority.

PHOTO: Aerial view of the Port of Barcelona. Getty Images

About 65,000 cbm of LNG was supplied to vessels in Barcelona last year, an increase of 66% from 2020.

As a comparison, this was still some way off Rotterdam - Europe's biggest LNG bunkering port - where LNG sales rose by 187% to all-time high at 604,000 cbm last year.

A total of 236 LNG bunkering operations were conducted in Barcelona in 2021, of which Spanish shipping company Baleària carried out 218 multitruck-to-ship (MTTS) operations.

Baleària operated five LNG vessels that accounted for 41% of the LNG volumes at the port.

Even though Mediterranean cruise vessel activity was muted until June 2021, the port still saw demand from cruise lines that "exceeded pre-pandemic levels," said the Port de Barcelona authority.

Four Carnival cruise lines make regular port calls, and were bunkered through 18 ship-to-ship (STS) operations which added 38,000 cbm in LNG volumes.

A new cruise line has started operating in Barcelona since December, while a few others are expected to join, the port authority added.