10-year lease by the trading house of the bettolina that the Genoese shipyards are building in Piombino together with Tuscan plant engineers
Confirming in toto what SHIPPING ITALY anticipated a month and a half ago, Axpo, a Swiss trading house in the energy sector with a presence in Italy with offices in Rome, Genoa and Milan, has announced that it has "signed a 10-year agreement for the chartering of a LNG supply vessel" in the port of Naples.
The note, in fact, explains that "the long-term agreement was signed with Italy's Gas and Heat SpA and the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard. The ship will be built by shipowner San Giorgio in Piombino, Italy, and will have a capacity of 7,500 cubic meters. In the future, the ship will also be able to carry bio-GNL and ammonia, which is emerging as a carbon-neutral fuel, particularly in the shipping industry."
The tanker is expected to be operational in early 2025. "Operating off the coast of Naples, the vessel will provide both ship-to-ship and ship-to-truck services. The Italian vessel will be equipped with an on-board mounted multi-truck bunkering skid so that multiple tankers can be loaded simultaneously, significantly reducing supply times. Owned by Gas and Heat SpA, this will be the first use in Europe of the innovative technology for continuous ship-to-truck (ship-to-tanker) operations."
Axpo Group's Head of Continental Europe Merchant Trading, Marco Saalfrank, commented, "The demand for sustainable solutions for the marine industry continues to grow significantly, in line with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international transport. With an expected reduction of up to 40 percent in carbon intensity from transportation in this industry sector by 2030, the LNG bunkering solution, will provide a cleaner marine fuel in the medium term and beyond."
Daniele Corti, Small Scale LNG Manager at Axpo Group, added, "Thanks are due to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), the AdSP of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Naples Port Authority for their cooperation on this project. Our thanks also go to all of Axpo's partners: Gas and Heat SpA, the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard, our legal advisor Francesco Maria di Majo of the Bridgelaw firm, and Dario Soria, Director General of Assocostieri, an industry body responsible for energy terminal management."