LNG Bunkering Takes Off in Rotterdam

The throughput of LNG - liquefied natural gas - as bunker fuel in the Rotterdam bunker port increased considerably from 1,500 to 9,500 tonnes in 2018.

Meanwhile, the sale of bunker oil - fuel for shipping - in the bunker port decreased from 9.9 million m3 to 9.5 million m3. The decrease can almost entirely be ascribed to the decline in sales of heavy fuel oil from 8.3 million m3 to 7.9 million m3.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority suspects that the decline in bunker volumes in Europe’s largest bunker port is a consequence of the increased scale and use of modern vessels in container shipping. Supplies to container ships account for approximately 70 per cent of the total Rotterdam bunker market.

These days, LNG bunkering in Rotterdam is business as usual. As well as Titan LNG, Shell and Anthony Veder have now also registered as LNG bunker specialists in the Rotterdam port. The Port Authority is expecting to have ten suppliers within five years and a considerable increase in LNG bunkering.

The introduction of the so-called ‘Timetobunker App’ was successful. The Port Authority started a trial last summer with bunker specialists VT Group, Unibarge, Titan LNG, FTS Hoftrans and Transnational Blenders, for digital bunker registration via this specially-developed application. The app is now available to other bunker suppliers, and the ‘Timetobunker App’ is also live.