Edison: first LNG bunkering operation in the Adriatic Sea

The ship-to-ship bunkering operations took place in the port of Trieste, using Edison's Ravenna Knutsen, which also supplies the Ravenna coastal storage facility. The refuelling, the first of its kind in the Adriatic Sea, allows ships to continue their voyage, while reducing its emissions through LNG.

 

Milan-Trieste, 30 July 2024 - Edison announces that it has completed the liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling in the port of Trieste. The ship-to-ship bunkering operation is the first to take place in the Adriatic Sea and the first to be carried out by Edison through the use of the LNG carrier Ravenna Knutsen, which has been supplying the Ravenna LNG coastal depot (DIG) – forming part of the Group's integrated logistics chain and contributing to the decarbonisation of road and maritime transport – since 2021.

The operation, that has just concluded, marks the start of more ship-to-ship bunkering operations in the port of Trieste.
 «We are proud to support our clients on their decarbonisation path and to announce the first ship-to-ship LNG refuelling in the Adriatic Sea. I would like to thank all the authorities, and in particular the Port Authority of Trieste, who made this important milestone possible», says Fabrizio Mattana, Executive Vice President for Gas Assets at Edison. «After the commissioning of the coastal depot in Ravenna, which has become the reference in Italy for LNG supply in road transport, thanks to today's operation Edison is the first in the LNG supply market for the maritime segment. This is a sector with a high potential for reducing its emissions, and LNG is the solution available and competitive today. To consolidate our market presence, we are also developing a second LNG coastal depot in Southern Italy and a second LNG carrier ready for bunkering operations. So many concrete steps that confirm our commitment to sustainable mobility in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea». 

The Ravenna Knutsen is a unique small LNG carrier with extreme operational flexibility, available to Edison under a contract with Norwegian shipowner Knutsen OAS Shipping. It was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries at the Mipo shipyard in South Korea. The LNG carrier can transport up to 30,000 cubic meters of LNG via three high-nickel steel tanks that are suitably insulated to withstand cryogenic temperatures. The ship has a double set of cargo manifolds (both low and high), which grant it utmost operational versatility, making it capable of operating with storage facilities and vessels of different sizes. 

LNG. LNG is considered an alternative fuel, in line with European and international energy transition commitments, enabling the achievement of significant reductions in several emission factors by eliminating sulphur oxides and particulate matter (PM) and reducing nitrogen and carbon dioxide emissions. It ensures compliance with the limits imposed by the International Maritime Organization for the transit of vessels in sulphur emission control areas (SECA areas), which the Mediterranean is set to join on 1 May 2025.