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Two Swedish consultancy companies - SSPA Sweden AB and ÅF Industry - are to contribute to the Danish Maritime Authority’s efforts to make ships in the Baltic Sea run on natural gas in the future.

The Danish Maritime Authority is at the helm of a project aiming to develop the competitiveness of short sea shipping, whilst also benefiting the environment. The project has the form of a broad cooperation with 20 partners, including companies, ports and authorities.

The project aims to pave the way for ships in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel to be fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG). This would require an infrastructure of so called 'filling stations' and the necessary legislation and standards, etc. would also need to be in place.

At the core of the project would be the development of a delivery infrastructure. The Danish Maritime Authority has signed a contract with ÅF Industry and SSPA Sweden - two consultancy firms specializing in this area.

A special focus of the project will be identifying the safety conditions, the arrangement of the filling stations and the economy of using LNG. A number of the project partners are also expected to actively contribute in the work carried out by ÅF Industry and SSPA Sweden.

The work is to lead to recommendations on how to develop an infrastructure of filling stations. The recommendations are to be directed at central stakeholders, such as shipowners, ports, LNG suppliers, states and the IMO.

The project is co-financed by the EU as a part of the Motorways of the Seas programme under the Trans-European Network of Transport.

If you would like to know more about the project, please contact Mr. Mogens Schrøder Bech by telephone: +45 39 17 45 01 or by e-mail: mb@dma.dk

Further information on the project can be viewed by visiting the following links below:

** Project Summary

** Detailed Project Description

** List of participating partners

The first Reference Group meeting will be held on 17th June 2011 in Brussels.