The Salamanca, the latest incorporation of the shipping company Brittany Ferries, made a stopover at the Port of Cartagena to refuel 500 m3 of LNG, supplied by Repsol through the Enagás regasification plant, at Front E003 of the Principe Felipe wharf.
“This bunkering operation is special because it is the first time that this Front has supplied LNG to a ship the size of the Salamanca with a length of 212 meters thanks to the investments in expanding the docks that we are making, which allows us to serve larger ships efficiently and safely,” said the President of the Cartagena Port Authority Yolanda Muñoz.
For this reason, the port of Cartagena is making a significant investment to adapt and expand the Principe Felipe wharf in the Escombreras dock for LNG bunkering, with a budget of 9.7 million euros and which will be completed in a few months. “Our goal is to position ourselves as a logistics hub for LNG in Europe and strengthen the maritime transport supply chain, which will increase our competitiveness, that of the companies in the region, and our commitment to being a greener port,” explained Muñoz.
“The geostrategic position of the Port of Cartagena places us as a key infrastructure for the refueling of more efficient ships powered by LNG, such as the Salamanca”, added the president of the APC.
The Salamanca, with 212 meters in length, 77,000 deadweight tons and a capacity for 2.7 kilometers of vehicles and 1,015 passengers in 341 cabins, is Brittany Ferries’ first ship to run on LNG. The vessel will join the company’s fleet in the spring for the connection between Spain and the United Kingdom. Specifically, she will travel 10,322 nautical miles (19,166 kilometers)
The Port of Cartagena decided two decades ago to prepare its facilities for the discharge of more sustainable fuels. It is a pioneer in LNG bunkering due to the refueling of LNG carried out with Repsol and Enagás to a ship directly from a regasification plant. This operation is part of the European project CORE LNGas Hive, co-financed by the European Commission.
In recent years, the port has increased the transport of LNG, exceeding figures of more than 2.6 million tons in 2021, 14% more than in 2020.
Source: Cartagena Port Authority
