Nauticor and Gas Natural Fenosa Cooperate in LNG Bunkering

GAS NATURAL FENOSA has been awarded a supply operation of 120 tons of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for the Swedish company FURETANK. GAS NATURAL FENOSA, NAUTICOR and FURETANK are leaders in the development and operation of LNG.

On the 19th of May 2018, the new build chemical tanker “Fure Vinga” bunkered LNG for the first time in Europe. In total, the vessel received 120 tons of the environmental-friendly fuel in a truck-to-ship operation in the port of Cartagena. In total, 6 trucks of LNG were brought to the Spanish port and transferred to the vessel. “We are glad that the first LNG bunker operation for Fure Vinga in Europe has been completed smoothly, thanks to the cooperation of all parties involved in the bunker operation, including the ship’s crew and port authorities, as well as the profound preparation by Gas Natural Fenosa and Nauticor”, said Lars Höglund, CEO of Furetank in the aftermath of the bunker operation.

The LNG experts from Hamburg-based Nauticor GmbH & Co. KG and Madrid-based Gas Natural Fenosa decided to join forces and cooperate in order to jointly enable this operation, thereby enlarging their LNG bunkering network and adding further evidence of the Europe-wide availability of LNG as marine fuel. “Combining our LNG expertise has made this bunkering a complete success, evidencing to the customer that the availability of LNG as a bunker fuel is improving by the day”, stated Mahinde Abeynaike, CEO of Nauticor. “With this type of cooperation it is evident that the use of LNG as a marine fuel is an economic, real and available solution for shipping companies, guaranteeing supply in ports of different areas”, Joaquin Mendiluce General Manager of Gas Natural Comercializadora said.

Swedish flagged “Fure Vinga” is the first of a series of six new build chemical tankers and owned and operated by Donsö based LNG frontrunner Furetank. The vessel is the second LNG-fuelled ship in the company’s fleet after the retrofitted chemical tanker “Fure West”, which has been running on LNG since 2015.

For Nauticor, which is already supplying Furetank’s “Fure West” in Northwest Europe, the cooperation with Gas Natural Fenosa shows new possibilities of LNG supply. Nauticor has been a frontrunner in the development of LNG for maritime applications and has developed thorough experience and a dense network of LNG bunker locations in Northwest Europe over the last years.