UECC bunkers car carrier with LNG in Spain

Norwegian shipping line United European Car Carriers (UECC) has successfully bunkered its LNG-battery hybrid vehicle carrier vessel with LNG in Spain.

PHOTO: LNG stem being delivered to UECC’s Auto Energy. UECC

The vessel, Auto Energy, was bunkered with an unspecified volume of LNG at the Spanish port of Sagunto. The operation marked the port’s first LNG bunkering.

It was also the first LNG bunker delivery for UECC in the Mediterranean region. The stem was supplied by Spanish energy company Repsol.

The successful LNG bunkering operation in the Mediterranean region will enable the company “to offer greener transportation solutions across a wider range of European routes,” UECC says.

LNG has been gaining popularity among shipowners. The global LNG-fuelled fleet is currently made up of 399 vessels, with another 145 expected to join this year, according to classification society DNV data.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a GHG compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

In March, Gasum bunkered UECC’s Auto Energy with LNG in the Norwegian port of Drammen – which marked the port’s first LNG bunker delivery.

By Tuhin Roy

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