Svitzer to power South Hook LNG Terminal’s tugs with HVO

Tugboat operator Svitzer, an arm of Danish shipping major A.P. Moller – Maersk, has agreed to fuel a fleet of five tugs deployed for the South Hook LNG Terminal with hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO).

PHOTO: Svitzer’s tugboats in operation. Svitzer

HVO is produced by hydrogenation and hydrocracking of vegetable oils and animal fats using hydrogen and catalysts at high temperatures and pressures.

These tugboats currently run on marine gas oil (MGO). The switch from MGO to HVO will require “no modifications to equipment or engines,” and will lead to a “significant reduction in CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions,” Svitzer claims.

Meanwhile, the towage provider has not disclosed the amount of CO2 emissions will be reduced after this switch. But its UK fleet reduced CO2 emissions by 21,000 mt by switching from MGO to HVO in 2022.

The agreement will make South Hook LNG Terminal “the first terminal at the Port of Milford Haven to switch its towage contract to low-carbon fuels,” Svitzer claims.

“We look forward to continuing working with South Hook to operate vessels that benefit the local port environment through reduced particulate emissions,” Svitzer Europe’s chief commercial officer Mattias Hellstrom says.

By Tuhin Roy

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