Senior management representatives of three bunker-buying organizations based in the neighbouring countries of Finland and Estonia have spoken in favour of LNG as a marine fuel in recent comments.
Tom Ekegren, Business Manager at
Arctia Oy; Matti-Mikael Koskinen, Managing Director at
ESL Shipping; and Tarvi-Carlos Tuulik, Director, Shipbuilding at
Tallink Grupp have all explained why their firms will be supporting the use of LNG for their fleets moving forwards.
Ekegren, whose company operates the world's first LNG-powered icebreaker, Polaris, said he expects the role of LNG as a marine fuel to grow in the future -
especially in the Baltic Sea.
"Thanks to LNG-based solutions, the construction of high-class ice vessels is possible so that they meet the new energy efficiency requirements," Ekegren remarked.
"By operating Polaris, we are supporting the development of the infrastructure needed to move to LNG and sharing the best practices of LNG within the industry," he added.
ESL Shipping's Matti-Mikael Koskinen posited that LNG will play "
a big and prominent role" in the future, and that the use of carbon dioxide-free biogas will also increase.
"Environmental issues are at the heart of more and more businesses and guide decision-making alongside operational and economic factors," he noted.
Last year, ESL launched two LNG-fuelled dry cargo vessels:
the Viikki and the Haaga, which are both due to start operating in the Baltic Sea this year.
"The introduction of new LNG-equipped vessels has been a major learning process for our staff. We have already gained a lot of know-how and its accumulation continues. We intend to keep the lead in maritime transport. When we buy new ships, their fuel will be LNG," Koskinen explained.
Meanwhile, according to Tallink Grupp's Tarvi-Carlos Tuulik, LNG is "
the best marine fuel option in the Baltic Sea region".
"The good energy density and competitive price of LNG offer an excellent environmentally friendly option for maritime carriers. Low emissions of sulphur oxides and significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions speak strongly for LNG," Tuulik observed.
"Thanks to sophisticated technology, LNG is now an always-to-take alternative to fuel for new ships. Future technical solutions will enable us to move to absolutely carbon neutral fuels at some point," he added.
