"With the new joint venture company we want to offer LNG to ship owners as an alternative energy source with a lower environmental impact than traditional bunker fuels. The know-how combination of Bomin and Linde will enable us to offer attractive solutions in this emerging market," said Claus-Georg Nette, member of the Executive Board of Marquard & Bahls AG.

The initiative will involve future operations in a number of key ports throughout the so-called "Emission Control Areas" (ECAs) in North-West Europe. Vessel emissions in ECAs will have to be reduced further on January 1st 2015, forcing ship owners to limit their sulphur emissions drastically. However, the use of LNG as a solution for meeting the increasingly strict regulations requires a network of storage facilities to be set up for the bunkering of vessels in main European harbors.

"A readily available and cost-effective LNG infrastructure is key to the development of LNG as a maritime fuel," noted Aldo Belloni, member of the Executive Board of Linde AG. "This new joint venture underpins our LNG strategy, already visible in our recent opening of the LNG terminal in Stockholm harbor and our study for the introduction of LNG with the Hamburg Port Authority."

Source: Linde Group