Port of Vancouver is making waves in the alternative fuel space after loading its first cruise ship with LNG.
The LNG bunker vessel Seaspan Garibaldi delivered the load ahead of the ship’s voyage to Alaska.
Captain Shri Madiwal, Vice-President of Operations and Supply Chain at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, said the port is focused on putting infrastructure and processes in place to ensure visiting ships can move beyond traditional marine fuels and embrace alternative fuels.
Source: Port of Vancouver
“LNG is one of the most widely adopted alternative marine fuels and the first [one] approved for bunkering at the Port of Vancouver – its introduction is a vital step forward as early planning gets underway to safely introduce other alternative fuels like ammonia and methanol,” he said.
The transition from traditional marine fuels, like heavy fuel oil and marine diesel, to LNG is key to reducing emissions and meeting decarbonisation targets for all ports.
While biofuels have been available for bunkering at the port for several years in limited quantities, LNG represents the arrival of the first alternative to traditional diesel-based fuels.
Seaspan Energy currently operates three ship-to-ship LNG bunkering vessels on North America’s West Coast.
This year the company has successfully completed several LNG bunkering operations for container, car carrier and bulk cargo ships in Vancouver, as shippers embrace the availability of the alternative fuel.
Harly Penner, President of Seaspan Energy, said providing LNG bunkering services from Vancouver was a big step forward.
