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The Port of Tallinn has selected Pöyry Management Consulting Oy as the successful bidder to carry out a feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis of the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering infrastructure in the harbours of the Port of Tallinn. A total of six companies participated in the bidding process.

According to Port of Tallinn business manager Natalja Baidina, the study is related to the new environmental requirements regarding marine fuels in the Baltic Sea that are soon to come into force. "The requirements that are considerably more stringent than the current ones are best satisfied by using liquefied natural gas as fuel for vessels, which in turn requires provision of bunkering through an LNG terminal," noted Baidina.

"The main goal of the study is to evaluate the market potential of LNG as a bunkering fuel in the Baltic region, the most efficient ways to provide for supply of LNG, as well as to address the questions of logistics and feasibility in general”, added Baidina.

"The successful bidder of the tender for the feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis is Pöyry, which offered the least expensive solution. The study should be completed already in April," commented Baidina.

Bids for the tender announced by Port of Tallinn in the end of November were submitted by Royal Haskoning DHV, DNV Belgium NV, Ramboll Danmark A/S, Pöyry Management Consulting Oy, AF-Consulting AS and AS PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisors.

The bids were evaluated according to the following criteria: price - 40%; tenderer’s experience in conducting feasibility and/or return on investment surveys - 40%; schedule (as offered by tenderers) – 20%.

The study is co-financed within the framework of the European Union’s TEN-T program "LNG in Baltic Sea Ports", the aim of which is to develop a unified approach towards the development of an LNG bunkering infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The ports of Aarhus, Helsingborg, Helsinki, Malmö-Copenhagen, Turku, Stockholm and Tallinn have joined the project.

According to IMO, MARPOL Annex VI and EU requirements, starting from 2015 the content of sulphur in marine fuel should not exceed 0.1% in the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), which covers the Baltic and North Sea.