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Netherlands is to embark on a number of initiatives to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a transportation fuel at the port of Rotterdam and other areas.

The news follows recent discussions between representative of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the employers’ organisation Deltalinqs, and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environment, which are said to have reached a positive conclusion yesterday, June 18.

Various initiatives are underway to use LNG as transport fuel for trucks, inland shipping, coastal shipping, ferries, fishing boats and tugboats in and around the port of Rotterdam and in the northern provinces. The activities focus on two specific areas: the Wadden and North Sea area and the Rotterdam-Basel Rhine waterway, including Amsterdam and Vlissingen.

A National LNG Platform has been set up to work together with the government on the issue of LNG. The first investments, as well as actual projects, are expected to be made in 2013. The LNG Platform will target legislation, the legal framework, measures of incentive and social support and environmental management.

According to Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Dutch market for LNG transportation fuel could potentially be as large as 2 to 3 million tonnes by 2030, representing a reduction in CO2 equivalents of more than 1 million tonnes per year and in particulate matter of 400 to 600 tonnes per year. NOx and SO2 emissions would also fall dramatically, as would noise levels.