Yesterday evening at around 19.00 hours, the port authority Groningen Seaports welcomed the Norwegian MS Kvitbjørn in Eemshaven, the first time it received a seagoing vessel that sails on the fuel LNG. The vessel forms part of the existing Norwegian scheduled service that is maintained by the Norwegian shipping company NorLines  AS in cooperation with Sealane  (Eemshaven) and that transports frozen fish from Norway to Eemshaven on a weekly basis. The vessels offer a completely new concept and transport combined cargo, chilled/frozen, Ro-Ro and containers.

Recently NorLines AS invested in two completely new seagoing vessels – the MV Kvitbjørn and MV Kvitnos. Both seagoing vessels sail 100% on the environmentally friendly fuel LNG. Norway is in the vanguard when it comes to using LNG as a new, dependable and future-proof fuel for shipping, because of its environmental benefits. For Eemshaven it is extremely important to be able to offer the fuel from a bunker station in the port to seagoing and other vessels.

National attention to LNG
LNG is an important fuel that is high on the national agenda too. At national level, Groningen Seaports is a member of the National LNG Platform and in the north of the Netherlands it takes part in Taskforce LNG Northern Netherlands. The north of the Netherlands and Germany would like to prove themselves as regions that embrace LNG, and an LNG Master Plan is in hand. In 2014 a consortium was set up for the development of an LNG bunker location in Eemshaven – “LNG Northern Netherlands”. Groningen Seaports is part of this consortium that also includes Energy Valley, Gasunie and GDF SUEZ. The consortium is working on elaborating various plans into specific projects.

In line with nautical customs, Harbour Master André Bruijn received the Captain of the MS Kvitbjørn and presented him with a so-called port shield as it was the first time the seagoing vessel entered the port.

The Norwegian MS Kvitbjørn arrives in Eemshaven