TotalEnergies, MSC Group perform 1st LNG bunkering in Marseille
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels and the cruise division of MSC Group have successfully completed the first LNG bunkering operation at the Port of Marseille Fos for MSC Cruises’ MSC World Europa, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels said on April 26.
MSC World Europa, which was delivered in October 2022 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique at the Saint Nazaire shipyard in France, is 333 m long. TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ chartered LNG bunker barge, Gas Vitality, refuelled the vessel via a ship-to-ship transfer of 2,500 m3 of LNG at the port on April 22.
The operation marks the start of the previously announced LNG bunker supply contract between TotalEnergies and the MSC Group in March 2021. Under the agreement, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels will supply approximately 45,000 metric tons/year of LNG to MSC Cruises’ vessels at Marseille.
“We are excited to support the cruise division of MSC Group in their decarbonization journey and to help the Port of Marseille Fos become an LNG bunker hub for the Mediterranean region,” said Philippe Charleux - senior vice president lubricants and specialties, TotalEnergies. “This operation also expands our LNG bunkering capabilities to the cruise ship segment, demonstrating our ability to serve a broader range of shipping clients, as the industry strives to reduce emissions.”
Patrick Pourbaix, managing director of MSC Cruises in France, said: “This first LNG bunkering operation in Marseille is an important milestone for our company as we welcome MSC World Europa for her first summer season in the Mediterranean.”
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels said it has actively invested in LNG bunkering infrastructure, critical to supporting its shipping customers’ decarbonisation ambitions through the uptake of LNG as a marine fuel. The company currently charters two 18,600-m³ LNG bunker vessels: Gas Agility, at the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands; and Gas Vitality, at the Port of Marseille-Fos, France.
Since the start of TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ LNG bunkering operations in November 2020, Gas Agility and Gas Vitality have performed over a hundred LNG bunkering operations.