Port Authority of Rostock issues first LNG bunkering license to “Kairos”

Hamburg-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker supplier Nauticor GmbH & Co. KG on Friday (13 December) said the company’s bunker supply vessel Kairos had received the first license to conduct LNG ship-to-ship bunkering operations in the port of Rostock.

The long-term permit was issued by the port authority of Rostock and is valid for the next years.

Nauticor has been supplying LNG to marine customers in the port of Rostock since 2017. Back then, the product tanker Fure West, owned and operated by the Swedish shipping company Furetank, received LNG from several trucks, thereby becoming the first vessel of its kind to bunker LNG in Germany in general.

“Moving from LNG supply by truck to a ship-to-ship supply solution is the natural next step for the development of Nauticor’s LNG supply business in Rostock,” said Richard Schroder, Director Finance & Operations at Nauticor.

“As a result of our extensive track record in providing the chilled fuel to shipowners not only in Rostock, but in Northwest Europe in general, and thanks to the experienced and well prepared people in charge within the responsible authorities in Rostock, the process to receive the permit was effective and smooth.”

The permit to conduct ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operations in the largest German Baltic Sea port was awarded in a timely manner and will be the basis for the supply of LNG to a variety of customers.

“By granting the permit for the first LNG bunker supply vessel in the port of Rostock, the authorities involved have shown again that we have the right framework in place to support those shipowners that take the next step towards more sustainable shipping,” said Jens Scharner, Managing Director of Rostock Port.

“With an experienced supplier like Nauticor, we are convinced that LNG bunkering with a bunker vessel can become a standard operation in our port.”

Photo credit: Nauticor
Published: 16 December, 2019