Last week the Port of Marseille Fos, Shell and Carnival carried out the first “ship-to-ship” LNG bunkering operation in France on the Costa Smeralda.
One of the world’s first LNG-powered cruise ships, the Costa Smeralda, operated by Costa of the Carnival Group and berthed in the Port of Marseille Fos, required an LNG delivery. Shell, under contract with Carnival, is supplying the LNG through one of their bunker vessels. This vessel was used for the first LNG bunkering operation in France on Monday, 4 May 2020.
Ship to ship bunkering: a successful operation
In a manoeuvre carried out with great precision and smoothness the Coral Methane positioned itself in line with the Costa Smeralda’s bunker station. Once the ship was connected to Costa Smeralda, the transfer of the loading hose by the ship’s crane could begin, followed by the installation of various equipment to allow LNG to be transferred in complete safety. Refuelling continued overnight and the Coral Methane departed on 05 May at 04:00.
The operation was carried out in perfect coordination between the ship services of the Port of Marseille Fos (lookout, piloting, towing, mooring), the crew of the Costa Smeralda, the Shell teams and the crew of the Coral Methane and with the reassuring presence of the nautical resources of the Marseille fire-fighters who are closely monitoring this development in liaison with the teams of the Harbour Master’s Office at the Port of Marseille Fos.
The Coral Methane tanker first filled Costa Smeralda’s three tanks (with a total of around 3,200 cubic meters of LNG) on the ship’s inaugural arrival in Barcelona in December 2019. Two of these tanks measure around 35 meters in length and 8 meters in diameter, each with a capacity of 1,525 cubic meters. A third tank, measuring 5 meters in diameter, is 28 meters long and has a capacity of around 520 cubic meters. All three are built with particular steel called “cryogenic”, covered with special insulating materials and installed in specific protected spaces. With one complete LNG tank filling Costa Smeralda can be powered for at least two weeks.
For a closer look on board Costa Smeralda click here.