LNG bunkering volumes in the port reached 229,750 cbm in 2024, a rise of 60.5 percent compared to 143,000 cbm in 2023, which also marked a record.
The port said in a statement that these volumes accounted for 40 percent of all LNG bunkering volumes supplied in Spain in 2024, positioning Barcelona as one of the leading ports for LNG bunkering in Europe.
Moreover, the port attributed the increase in volumes to several factors, including the start of operations of the 5,000-cbm LNG bunkering ship, Haugesund Knutsen, in 2023, the commitment of the ferry firm Baleària to LNG fuel, and the addition of new types of ships that use LNG in the port, notably car carriers.
In March 2023, Knutsen, Enagas, and Shell completed the first ship-to-ship operation with Haugesund Knutsen in Barcelona to the 337 meters long cruise ship, Costa Toscana.
Knutsen partnered with Enagas’ small-scale unit, Scale Gas, on the newbuild that serves LNG giant Shell under a charter deal.
Enagas also operates the Barcelona LNG import terminal.
The Barcelona port said that LNG dual-fuel PCTC, Lake Hermann, owned by EPS and chartered by MOL, was the first car carrier to bunker LNG in the port followed by four more ships of the same type.
During 2024, Balearia’s second LNG dual-fuel fast ferry, Margarita Salas, entered operations as well.
The vessel connects Barcelona with Mallorca and Menorca.
491 operations
During 2024, a total of 491 operations were carried out to supply LNG as fuel for ships in the port, the port said.
Of these, 402 were truck-to-ship operations (TTS and MTTS), with 45,427 cbm supplied, and 89 were ship-to-ship (STS) operations, with 184,324 cbm supplied.
Of the 8,398 ship calls at the Port of Barcelona during 2024, 822 calls have been made by ships using LNG, which is 10 percent of the total calls at the port.
Mainly cruise ships and ferries carried out LNG bunkering operations in Barcelona last year.
The world’s leading cruise companies, such as MSC, Costa Cruises, Carnival, Aida Cruises, etc., have added LNG-powered ships into their fleets, many of which operate regularly to Barcelona, it said.
During 2025, further risk analyses will be carried out to enable LNG bunkering supply to container vessels, for which the port has already received interest from operators, the port added.
DNV’s data shows that orders for LNG-powered vessels jumped 103 percent to 264 ships last year.
The orders for 264 LNG-powered ships compare to 130 LNG-powered vessels in 2023 and 222 LNG-powered vessels in 2022.
DNV said that the number of LNG-fueled ships in operation doubled between 2021 and 2024, with a record number of deliveries (169) in 2024.
By the end of 2024, 641 LNG-powered ships were in operation.
According to the AFI orderbook, this number is expected to double by the end of the decade.
