Avenir LNG in Germany’s first LNG ship-to-truck unloading operation

UK-based small-scale LNG company Avenir LNG has conducted Germany’s first direct LNG unloading operation from a transport vessel into trucks.

Courtesy of Avenir LNG

The operation took place on 22-23 February in the Port of Mukran where the small-scale LNG transport vessel Avenir Ascension unloaded LNG directly into transport trucks provided by global energy trader Vitol.

Then, the trucks transported the chilled fuel onwards to the European truck fueling station network, which is owned and operated by Vitol’s subsidiary ViGo Bioenergy GmbH.

The vessel was at berth for three days, with LNG unloading operations completed during this time. Avenir LNG said that the necessary preparations for the test operation were completed within weeks rather than the extended development period required for larger, permanent infrastructure such as onshore terminals or FSRUs.

According to Avenir LNG, the operation was prepared as a pilot project to demonstrate the viability of setting up an energy supply chain for decentralised regions without the requirement for large-scale LNG unloading and terminal infrastructure.

Commenting on the operation, Peter Mackey, CEO of Avenir LNG Limited, said: “We are excited about this successful LNG ship-to-truck operation in the Port of Mukran. This milestone underlines our commitment to ensure the supply of energy for our customers worldwide by providing the full small-scale supply chain from the major energy hubs to the end customers. We will continue to develop our supply portfolio, consisting of vessels, terminals and trucking operations and ship-to-truck unloading operations are going to complete our offers for customers in the marine, industry, and transport sector.

“Germany has moved quickly to build out large-scale LNG import infrastructure to support gas security of supply into the grid. This new ship-to-truck initiative is focussed on supplying the German market for trucked LNG which is one of the largest markets in Europe and is so far not served by any of the large-scale FSRU-based projects.”

Last year, Avenir LNG, through its unit Avenir Marine, also took part in the first LNG & BioLNG delivery in the Port of Lübeck, Germany.

When it comes to its recent activities, the company conducted the first LNG ship-to-ship (STS) bunkering operation for the newbuild RoPax ferry Peter Pan together with Germany-based ferry owner and operator TT-Line.

On 19 December 2022, the vessel received LNG from Avenir’s small-scale bunker vessel Avenir Advantage at Pengerang Anchorage, Malaysia.

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