First sea vessel tanks LNG in the Port of Moerdijk
On Saturday 15 August, the first sea vessel will tank LNG in the Port of Moerdijk. The Sefarina, an LNG-powered ship, will be tanked from the quay by special LNG tank trucks of Schenk Tanktransport; the LNG is supplied from Gate Terminal. After tanking, the Sefarina will leave for one of the companies on the port and industrial estate to unload its load.
The Port of Moerdijk has offered the possibility of tanking LNG for sea and inland waterway ships since December last year. It is extremely important for Moerdijk as a port to be able to offer this cleaner fuel to ships. This makes Moerdijk an important part of the network of LNG tanking stations. Inland waterway vessels already make regular use of this facility. That now the first sea vessel will be tanking LNG is a first. In the Rotterdam area, this is the first time that a sea vessel tanks LNG.
The Moerdijk Port Authority is pleased with the arrival of the Sefarina. The Port Authority stimulates the use of LNG as fuel for ships. The use of LNG instead of traditional fuels contributes to the ambitions in the Moerdijk Port Strategy 2030, to work on a cleaner environment and further sustainability of the Moerdijk port and industrial estate.
LNG means Liquefied Natural Gas. Natural gas (methane) becomes liquid when it is cooled to minus 162 degrees Celsius. LNG is highly suitable as fuel for ships engines. It is much cleaner than diesel or fuel oil. In addition, LNG-driven engines produce less noise and cause hardly any emission of sulphur and nitrogen oxides. The emission of CO2 can be reduced by 20 percent.