By 2016 it should be possible for barges in the port of Antwerp to fuel up with LNG at a fixed station.

The possibility for truck-to-ship bunkering with LNG already exists, but the construction of a bunkering station will make LNG continuously available for barges. In comparison with diesel, the fuel currently used by European barges, LNG is much cleaner. The exhaust gases from a barge powered by LNG contain hardly any particulates, and the emissions of NOx and SOx are also drastically reduced.

Construction of the LNG bunkering station

Antwerp Port Authority is one of the partners in the LNG Master Plan for the Rhine-Main-Danube aimed at promoting LNG as a fuel and as a cargo for European barges. As part of this European project the Port Authority is building a bunkering station for barges, partially subsidised by the European Commission’s TEN-T programme. After the European announcement of the selection of candidates earlier this year, the specifications for construction of the station will been given to the selected candidates this month.

Operation of the LNG bunkering station

The Port Authority is now issuing an official Request for Proposals with a view to appointing a candidate to operate the LNG bunkering station, for which the Port Authority will grant a five-year concession. During this period the operator will be responsible for providing LNG to barges in Antwerp and for maintenance and promotion of the facility. Interested parties have until 5 January 2015 to submit their proposals to Antwerp Port Authority.

About the Port of Antwerp

Cargo handling, industrial activities and logistics go hand in hand in the port of Antwerp. Our port contains the larges chemical cluster in Europe. The highly integrated and diversified presence of chemical players throughout the value chaine is quite unique in the world. Therefore, some of the most progressive logistic experts gathered here for the safe storage, handling and distribution of oils, chemicals als gases.