Brittany Ferries’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelled vessels Salamanca and Santoña have started to be supplied by Energy company Repsol with the supply of biomethane (bio-LNG).
The new supply takes place at the LNG bunkering terminal in Santander, Spain, which is certified by Green Marine Europe as Afloat earlier this week reported of its fifth annual performance report.
Salamanca and Santoña, Afloat also adds that the Stena-developed E-Flexer series that have been chartered will sail on bio-LNG on routes linking Portsmouth-Santander and Bilbao and Portsmouth-Cherbourg in France. In addition, the Rosslare-Bilbao and Cherbourg routes.
This is a first for both companies and the first supply of its kind in Spain, in which three truck loads – totalling 60 tonnes of bio-LNG will be provided by Repsol.
The use of bio-LNG can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 100% compared with the use of conventional LNG – depending on the livestock used to produce the biomenthane.
Bio-LNG has the same chemical composition as conventional LNG, so no changes to the engines are required and the ships’ performance will remain the same.