Barcelona port hosts its first ship-to-ship bioLNG bunkering

The Port of Barcelona has hosted its first ship-to-ship biofuel supply operation, led by Mein Schiff Relax, the first LNG dual-fuel cruise ship owned by Hamburg-based TUI Cruises.

The operation was conducted on July 26, when Shell-chartered bunkering vessel Haugesund Knutsen supplied 1,875 cubic meters (cbm) of bioLNG to Mein Schiff Relax. The biofuel was sourced from the Enagás regasification plant at the Energy Wharf at the port.

The ship-to-ship bioLNG bunkering of the Mein Schiff Relax – TUI Cruises’ first LNG-powered ship – at the Port of Barcelona is also said to mark a key milestone in delivering the company’s Climate Protection Roadmap, based on four main levers: the increased use of alternative fuels, green shore power, energy efficiency, and optimized voyage planning.

According to the Port of Barcelona, this was the second bioLNG supply operation carried out at the port. In March, the shipping company Baleària loaded bioLNG onto one of its vessels using a tanker truck, unlike the ship-to-ship operation, which speeds up the loading operation, increasing the amount of fuel loaded by more than 15