Eesti Gaas Starts Bunkering LNG in Helsinki

Elenger, the subsidiary of Eesti Gaas, has started LNG bunkering in the port of Helsinki, Finland. 

Operations have started with the same ship that Eesti Gaas bunkers in the port of Tallinn, the shuttle Megastar, which cruises between Helsinki and Tallinn.

Tallink’s Megastar will be truck-to-ship bunkered in the port of Helsinki once a week. Elenger delivers LNG to the port of Helsinki primarily from Novatek’s new LNG plant in Vysotsk, Russia.

A 30-meter security zone is set up during bunkering, and in order to eliminate the risk of sparks being produced, electricity in the security zone is switched off during bunkering. 

Eesti Gaas supplies its clients with LNG from Russia, Finland and Lithuania. The company has bought special semi-trailers specifically for LNG transportation and bunkering, and Tallink’s vessel Megastar has been truck-to-ship bunkered with LNG in the port of Tallinn more than 1,600 times.

Additionally, Damen is building a unique LNG bunkering vessel for Eesti Gaas. The 6,000 cubic meter capacity ship, to be delivered in 2020, will be used in the northern and eastern part of the Baltic Sea. 

The vessel is designed to meet the requirements of ICE class 1A certification, allowing her to operate all year in the Gulf of Finland and the northern Baltic. She will also achieve green ship notation. A dual-fuel propulsion system will be used for the management of the boil-off gas in combination with a gas burner.