- The ‘Haugesund Knutsen’, chartered by Shell Spain and built by Astilleros Armón Gijón, will operate in the Port of Barcelona and boost the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a sustainable fuel in maritime transport
- The shipbuilding initiative, spearheaded by Knutsen Oas Shipping, is part of a European project coordinated by Enagás within the LNGhive2 institutional strategy led by Puertos del Estado, and has been co-financed by the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme
- The event also saw presentation of the adaptation of the SmallScale jetty at the Enagás regasification terminal in Barcelona, which is one of the actions included in the Government’s +ES Plan (Plan Más Seguridad Energética - More Energy Security Plan)
- Prior to presentation of the ship, Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás, and Lluís Salvadó, Chairman of the Port of Barcelona, signed a MoU for the joint promotion of hydrogen projects in the area
According to the company’s website press release on February 2, 2023, Enagás subsidiary Scale Gas and Norwegian shipowner Knutsen presented the first LNG bunkering vessel built in Spain at the Barcelona Regasification Terminal. The ‘Haugesund Knutsen’, chartered by Shell Spain and built by Astilleros Armón Gijón, will be based at the Port of Barcelona.
In the words of Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás, “the construction of the ship is a step forward in meeting European decarbonisation targets boosting LNG as a sustainable fuel in maritime transport”. Along this line, he stressed that “this initiative is framed within a European project that Enagás is coordinating as part of LNGhive2 strategy, led by Puertos del Estado, aimed at promoting the development of the LNG market as sustainable marine fuel and ensuring supply in ports, in line with European Directive 94/2014 on alternative fuels”.
According to Knutsen’s Founder and Owner, Trygve Seglem, “the Haugesund Knutsen reaffirms Knutsen’s strategic line, which began 15 years ago with the Pioneer Knutsen, of betting on Small scale LNG as a tool to reinforce the use of LNG as a marine fuel and thus help in the target of decarbonisation and improvement of the environment in Europe and the Mediterranean”.
During the presentation ceremony, the Shell Spain Country Chair, Óscar Fernández, pointed out that “The Haugesund Knutsen vessel, which today joins our global bunkering network, is a magnificent example of how collaboration between the different players in the sector, together with the support of public administrations, will make it possible to jointly achieve the decarbonisation targets”.
For his part, the President of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó, pointed out that “having a ship like the ‘Haugesund Knutsen’ and the experience accumulated as partners in its design and construction further strengthens the positioning of the Port of Barcelona as a port for supplying alternative fuels and achieving the objective of reducing our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030”.
Prior to presentation of the vessel, Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás, and Lluís Salvadó, President of the Port of Barcelona, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly promote renewable hydrogen projects in the area, in line with the objective of the H2MED project to develop the first green hydrogen corridor in the European Union, where Barcelona will be a key enclave.
The entry into operation of H2MED will allow the Port of Barcelona to be connected to the Spanish Hydrogen Backbone, which will further strengthen the Port’s role as a key energy hub in Europe to achieve the decarbonisation targets.
Naming ceremony
The ‘Haugesund Knutsen’ has had its naming ceremony at the Port of Barcelona, where it will load and supply LNG as fuel to ships, as well as in adjacent areas.
It will also serve more customers in the Mediterranean region, playing a key role in the region’s security of supply and boosting the use of LNG as the most environmentally friendly fuel for shipping.
The vessel complies with all the safety measures established by the different EU regulations, has a storage capacity of 5,000 m3 , with two bi-lobe tanks of 2,500 m3 each, and an LNG supply capacity of 1,000 m3/h. It has a length of 92.75 metres, a beam of 16.90 metres and a draught of 4.25 metres.
Decarbonisation of maritime transport
The construction of the barge is part of the European Union’s ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ (CEF) transport aid programme, which has cofinanced with nine million euros its implementation, and has been made possible thanks to the developments and progress achieved by the public-private initiatives ‘CORE LNGas hive’ and ‘LNGhive2’, involving 49 partners (21 public, including 13 port authorities, and 28 private or industrial).
Compared to traditional fuels, LNG eliminates 100% of sulphur oxide (SOX) emissions, while reducing nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions by 80–90% and CO2 emissions by 25%. The use of LNG as a marine fuel in Spain could reduce around 2 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030, which would be equivalent to the introduction of more than one million electric vehicles on the market.
Along with the commissioning of the ship, the adaptation of the Small-Scale jetty at the Enagás Regasification Terminal in Barcelona was also unveiled at this event. This adaptation of the jetty is one of the actions included in the Government’s +ES Plan (Plan Más Seguridad Energética - More Energy Security Plan).
Along these lines, Spain’s seven regasification terminals are already adapted to supply LNG to ships, as are most ports. In 2022, a total of 13 ports in Spain supplied LNG to ships.
