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FSUE “Rosmorport” and LLC “Gazpromneft Marine Bunker” sign cooperation agreement on sidelines of St Petersburg International Economic Forum

The St Petersburg International Economic Forum opened in St Petersburg on June 6, 2019. The forum will last till June 8. The forum includes panel sessions and discussions, round-table meetings and other events. FSUE “Rosmorport” General Director Andrei Lavrishchev takes part in the forum.

On the first day of the forum FSUE “Rosmorport” and LLC “Gazpromneft Marine Bunker” (an operator of PJSC Gazpromneft bunkering business) signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of liquefied natural gas bunkering on the Ust Luga and Baltiysk railway ferry service. The document was signed by FSUE “Rosmorport” General Director Andrei Lavrishchev and LLC “Gazpromneft Marine Bunker” General Director Andrei Vasilyev.

The agreement envisages technical cooperation between the two parties to develop the transport infrastructure of Russia’s North-West and the market of LNG bunkering. The parties are planning to hold talks on commercial conditions of LNG bunkering.

FSUE “Rosmorport” implements a project for building two 200-meter ferries of Arc4 Class of the new generation for the Ust Luga – Baltyisk ferry line. The new ferries work by using liquefied natural gas and diesel fuel. “Putting the ferries into operation will allow to considerably renew the fleet working on the strategically important ferry service and redirect some part of cargo flowing to the region and from it through the territory of neighboring countries, transporting cargoes in the amount necessary for internal consumption,” Andrei Lavrishchev said.

Liquefied natural gas will be used as fuel for vessels. LLC “Gazpromneft Marine Bunker” is planning to build the first LNG-bunkering tanker in the seaports of the Baltic Sea. The implementation of this project will make it possible to synchronize the work for improving technical bunkering operations by an LNG-bunkering tanker in the future.

According to experts, the LNG that meets the requirements of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships both by sulphur content and nitrogen species concentration will play the key role on the bunkering market in the medium- and long-term period.

“An LNG bunkering tanker is a new segment on the bunkering market. It only starts forming. Thus, special attention will be paid to creating a modern fleet of LNG bunkering tankers and develop the high-tech coast infrastructure. Based on new technologies cooperation between PJSC Gazpromneft and FSUE “Rosmorport” will help take one of the most effective logistic decisions for the North-Western region and take a lead in the new market segment, Vasilyev said.

REFERENCE

LLC “Gazpromneft Marine Bunker” is a subsidiary of PJSC Gazrpomneft. It was created in 2007 to ensure year-round supplies of ship vessel and oil to for maritime and river transport. The company is one of the major suppliers of oil productions to the North-Western region. Following the results of the year 2018 the company supplied at least 332.000 tons of ship fuel to the seaport of Big Port St Petersburg.

MARPOL is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. In early 2015 amendments to the fundamental convention came into effect. They have regulated the quantity of sulphur in ship fuel used on vessels what routes run in the SECA areas (the area, which includes the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel, where vessels have to use fuel with low sulphur content). Since January 1, 2020 the MARPOL requirement related to banning fuel with sulphur content of more than 0.5% will be effective on the entire territory of international navigation.