Eesti Gaas, who was awarded the “Energy Action of the Year” award, carried out its 500th bunkering for Megastar

Last night, Eesti Gaas bunkered its 500th semitrailer of liquefied natural gas into Megastar, a gas ship sailing between Tallinn and Helsinki.

“The major opening LNG project for Eesti Gaas has been a challenge for the first eight months. We are mainly purchasing fuel from Pskov, 350 kilometres away, the supply cars need to cross the border twice, and staying on a smooth schedule requires true precision. On the other hand, half a thousand bunkering operations have given Eesti Gaas an invaluable experience,” said Margus Kaasik, Member of the Board of Eesti Gaas.

Eesti Gaas bunkers Megastar in Vanasadam with two to four trailers per night, depending on the needs of the vessel. Bunkering is done directly from the LNG semitrailer into the vessel, and the process takes up to 4 hours.

In addition to the Pskov plant, Eesti Gaas has also tested additional supply chains from Poland and Finland, which has also proven to be a complex logistical task. “Our eight semitrailers have completed 430,000 km, but we have done well, and today we can be proud to have made 500 successful refuellings. We would like to thank our valuable customer, Tallink, and all the partners with whom we provide the service, in particular the carriers AS P&J Transport and OÜ Pärnu Auto ETM,” stated Kaasik.

In addition to the numerical milestone, Eesti Gaas was also awarded the “Energy Action of the Year 2017” award for the bunkering of Megastar.

“Recognition is always welcome, but for us, Megastar is only the first project in the maritime fuel market. Beginning from 2020, the environmental requirements for marine fuel will become stricter globally, and it is believed that many shipping companies will opt for LNG to comply with the new standards – therefore, we want to carry on to make marine fuel even more of a focal point in our action plan,” Kaasik added.