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The Port of Antwerp says it expects to have an LNG bunkering and barge filling station in place by the beginning of 2016.

The procedure for construction of the station is currently under way and, in order to brief the future constructor as fully as possible about the facilities that the station will be required to offer, Antwerp Port Authority has launched a brief survey of potential users.

As a result of this consultation, the port authority says it hopes to get input on questions such as: which types of customers the facility must serve and whether the user/operator has a preference for particular technologies.

Based on the answers received, the port authority says it will then refine the specifications for construction of the LNG bunkering and filling station.

Procedure

In July 2014, Antwerp Port Authority issued a European call for candidates to build an LNG bunkering and filling station for barges. Various candidates put themselves forward in the month that followed.

The next step will be for the port authority to supply the selected candidates with the contract specifications. In a parallel process another call has been launched with the aim of appointing a candidate to operate the facility in the form of a concession.

Input from potential users

In terms of the technical specifications of the facility, the port authority says it wishes to "take maximum account of the preferences of potential customers/operators of the installation".

The questionnaire that has been drawn up can be completed up until 11:00 hours on October 9, 2014. Based on the answers received, Antwerp Port Authority says it will consider the possibility of organizing a round table discussion with the interested respondents on October 14.

Please find below the addresses for questionnaires in English and Dutch.

For the English questionnaire: http://www.portofantwerp.com/en/lng-market-consultation

For the Dutch questionnaire: http://www.portofantwerp.com/nl/lng-marktconsultatie

LNG Master Plan

The project is being partly financed by the European Commission as part of the LNG Master Plan - a project to promote the use of LNG by European barges.

"With the construction of an LNG bunkering and filling station, Antwerp Port Authority is pioneering the way for others to follow," Antwerp Port Authority said.

Image: The Argonon - a barge powered by LNG operated by Dutch firm Deen Shipping - was bunkered from a truck in Antwerp on December 5, 2012. It was the first time that an LNG bunkering operation of this kind had ever been carried out at a Belgian port.