Port of Barcelona targets methanol bunkering pilot in 2026

Authorities at the Port of Barcelona will launch a commercial tender for methanol bunkering and expect to conduct its first trial this year.

IMAGE: Hutchison Ports-operated Barcelona Europe South Terminal (BEST) container terminal in the Port of Barcelona. Hutchison Ports

The authority also plans to carry out its first barge-to-ship LNG bunkering for containerships and vessels at anchorage this year.

“Several companies have already expressed interest in obtaining authorisation to position bunker barges in Barcelona or the Western Mediterranean, which would help increase supply volumes,” the port authority said.

The plans follow a record year for LNG bunkering at the port. Barcelona sold 232,000 cbm (104,000 mt) of LNG for bunkering in 2025, up by around 1% on the year. A total of 545 LNG bunkering operations were carried out, including 447 truck-to-ship operations supplying 48,000 cbm (21,000 mt) and 98 barge-to-ship operations supplying 184,00 cbm (82,000 mt).

Around 30% of cruise ships and 40% of passenger vessels calling at the port were LNG-powered, the authority said, although it has not disclosed the actual number of vessels.

The port authority attributed the growth in LNG bunkering to the Knutsen-Scale Gas-operated LNG bunker barge Haugesund Knutsen running at full capacity for several months in 2025, and the arrival of new vessel segments, including LNG-capable car carriers, among other factors.

First liquefied biomethane (LBM) bunkering operations were also conducted at the port in 2025, which the authority expects to grow “in the coming years” as the demand for low- and zero-emission fuels rise.

By Konica Bhatt

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