Providing fuel for Megastar begins the era of sea transportation for Eesti Gaas
The new Tallink ship Megastar starting on Tallinn – Helsinki route on Sunday uses liquefied natural gas or LNG as fuel; it is the first larger sea transport project for Eesti Gaas providing fuel for the ship.
“We are all ready to send the ship on the route – all preparations have gone as planned, the employees have received a thorough training and our semi-trailers are driving between the factory and the port,“ said Ants Noot, the executive director of Eesti Gaas.
Eesti Gaas buys liquefied natural gas from the factory in Pskov, to transport and bunker LNG, eight modern semi-trailers were ordered from Germany, all of them equipped with powerful cryogenic pumps. Eight trucks – four en route to Tallinn and four to Pskov – are in constant movement.
Megastar’s bunkering method is so-called truck-to-ship – the gas is pumped directly from the semi-trailers into the ship. The duration of pumping is four hours and it takes place at night time.
The goal of Eesti Gaas is to complement its product portfolio with the direction of LNG in the upcoming years. The plan is supported by the fact that since 2015, the sulphur content of ship fuel in the Baltic Sea region may not surpass 0,1 percent. In order to fulfil this goal, ship owners can use fuel with low sulphur content, install cleaning mechanisms or start using LNG.
LNG has a very high energy content, its usage does not require access to gas distribution network. LNG is used in energy production, land and sea transportation. It is more cost efficient than the heating oil.
AS Eesti Gaas operates in land gas and electricity sales. The concern includes AS AG Ehitus, specialized on engineering and construction of gas piping and structures and AS Gaasivõrgud providing distribution service. The company owns five compression land gas stations in Estonia. Eesti Gaas employs more than 200 people; the company has 1 600 business and 42 000 domestic customers.
More photos here
Video: Bunkering of Megastar
