Cruise Focus

MARSEILLE FOS DOUBLES DOWN ON LNG FOR CRUISE VESSELS

In a cruise industry first for France, a debut ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation has set the scene for the new generation of cruise vessels to refuel at Marseille Fos, writes Michele Witthaus

Carnival Corporation and Marseille Fos have worked together with Shell on the LNG refuelling project, which advances the French port's plans to focus on growing demand to bunker new LNG cruise vessels.

The Anthony Veder Coral Methane bunker vessel, which is operated in partnership with Shell, successfully refuelled Costa Smeralda on 4 May 2020, establishing its capacity to supply LNG to cruise ships that can use the low-emission fuel. The breakthrough complements a raft of measures being introduced at Marseille Fos to cut air emissions in the port, including investment of €20 million to reach the goal of becoming the Mediterranean's first 100% electric port by 2024.

“The Port of Marseille Fos is a member of the SGMF, a working group in which Carnival Corporation also participates,” says Florence Perouas, harbour official - LNG expert at Marseille Fos Port Authority.

“The specialised teams from the Port and Carnival Corporation have been working together on these subjects for three years. It was therefore in a climate of mutual trust that we worked together on this operation.”

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Despite the existing relationship between the organisations, this was no ordinary operation and brought many new challenges.

“The major difficulty was - within the time allocated - to guarantee a maximum level of safety without applying the usual licensing procedures,” explains Ms Perouas. “The level of knowledge, expertise and mastery of the relevant stakeholders has enabled the issuance of an authorisation for a single operation - with the same strict requirements as an agreement. The port was able to analyse the required necessary studies very quickly. It has been attentive to Shell's prerequisites and shared operating procedures enabled to issue an authorisation within very short deadlines.” Following the success of the operation, a second was executed on 15 June.

Photo: Port of Marseille Fos

8 An aerial view of the Port of Marseille Fos

For Carnival Corporation, it was an opportunity to work with Marseille Fos and Shell to ensure that the new LNG facilities and infrastructure at the port were a good fit for Costa Smeralda and other Carnival Corporation brand ships. The Covid-19 crisis added another layer of complexity to an already complex schedule.

Tom Strang, senior vice president, maritime affairs, Carnival Corporation, says: “Because of the current situation where our ships are unable to operate as normal, we needed to find a solution where the fuel came to the ship. While Marseilles has an LNG facility, there is no current LNG bunkering vessel located in the port, so we needed to use our existing supplier and their supply chain.

“We have been working closely with the port over recent years to develop the necessary processes and procedures, so it was a good exercise to use the basis that we already had to develop in a very short time the ability to carry out the bunkering operation.”

For Carnival Corporation, bringing Marseille online for LNG provision adds a useful source of LNG bunkering in the Mediterranean, in addition to the company's other resources in the region. “I am not sure if we will use Marseille as a future LNG hub given our existing commitment to Barcelona,” says Mr Strang. “It does however give us a good option to consider in the future and demonstrates the flexibility of the operation and the intent of the port to get things done.”

LNG HUB

Several factors make Marseille Fos the ideal location for an LNG hub to serve cruise ships in the region, says Ms Perouas. “With this operation, the port has proven its perfect mastery of the essential security conditions. It was quick to react. Marseille Fos is also a port community whose coordination of actors is excellent. The common response was of high quality: Mooring, piloting, towing, harbour master, the Marseille marine fire department and terminal... all were of great professionalism.

8 Costa Cruises'

vessel, Costa Smeralda

Photo: Port of Marseille Fos

The port, in a fine analysis of the needs, had the capacity to give clear and precise directives to ensure the safety of the operations.”

Tahir Faruqui, general manager, Shell Global Downstream LNG, said on the occasion of the first LNG cruise bunkering operation at Marseille Fos: “We're pleased that even in these challenging times for the industry, Shell is able to play a small role in helping to ensure continuity of LNG supply to our customers. We're glad that we have been able to work efficiently with the Port of Marseille and Carnival Corporation.”

Because of the current situation where our ships are unable to operate as normal, we needed to find a solution where the fuel came to the ship. While Marseilles has an LNG facility, there is no current LNG bunkering vessel located in the port, so we needed to use our existing supplier and their supply chain - Tom Strang

Within two years, Marseille Fos expects to provide a leading LNG offer in the Mediterranean. This is based on several developments, says Ms Perouas, including the first LNG calls at the cruise terminal that started last year, along with “the confirmation by Engie of its plans for continued activity at the Elengy terminal in Fos Tonkin beyond 2028; Total's announcement of the construction of an LNG bunker vessel for the bunkering of the five LNG container ships of 15,000 teu from CMA CGM which should stop at Fos from 2021 and the mobilisation of the Marseille Provence Cruise Club and commitment of cruise companies through the Blue Charter promoting the scheduling in Marseille of LNG-fuelled ships.”

The major challenge in setting up the LNG facility was to reach the agreed level of safety in a very short time, she says. “It also involved finding technical solutions tailored to Shell's needs in particular. It is the professionalism of all stakeholders that made the operation successful. Mutual trust also played a role.”

GREEN OFFERINGS

The port authority offers a range of 'green' services to ships that are attracted by the LNG bunkering facilities. “Reducing the environmental impact of human and economic activities is this possibility to its customers on a regular basis.” investments that will reach €20 million,” remarks Ms Perouas. and in Europe, and that this will

now at the heart of everyone's concerns,” says Ms Perouas.

“For maritime transport, the international standards of the International Maritime Organization and the European Union go in this direction, imposing the use of cleaner fuel (0.5%

to the already existing limitation (0.1% sulphur content) for ships staying more than two hours at berth.”

She adds: “In parallel with these international rules, with industrial companies, ship owners and shipping companies, the port of Marseille Fos is committed to an energy transition favourable to the environment. The port of Marseille Fos is one of the 14 ports in the world to offer shipping companies shore power, the most radical solution for preserving air quality during call. Since January 2017, the port of Marseille is the first one in France and the only one in the Mediterranean to offer

In June 2019, the Marseille Fos Port Supervisory Board unanimously approved the start of an investment programme for the construction of electrical installations that will provide new connections for suitably equipped vessels when berthed in Marseille: The impact of this programme will be seen in particular in the Cap Janet international passenger terminal, which will open in 2022; the ship repair terminals at gate 4 and on the Léon Gourret jetty cruise terminal from now until 2024.

“In anticipation of future regulations and to respond to environmental and health issues in the territory, the Port of Marseille Fos is deploying an offensive strategy via “The Corsica docks are already equipped: La Méridionale connected its ships in 2017 and Corsica Linea in 2019.”

The statistics for this drive to establish shorepower connection are impressive: all of the passenger terminals in the port of Marseille Fos will be equipped by 2024, traffic representing 1,800 calls per year, or 66% of the stops in the Marseille basins. Meanwhile 100 stopovers of ships undergoing naval repair were connected at low voltage in 2019. Even the impact of Covid-19 has not stopped the port in its tracks. “It had an impact on the administrative part of the projects (which require stakeholder consultation in person), but the operational side continued to operate and the schedule is maintained.”

Ms Perouas concludes: “We believe that the environmental initiatives should be an important part of the economic recovery plans which are currently being designed in France sulphur content) since 1 January 2020, which comes in addition

especially be true in the port of Marseille Fos, whose strategic ambition is to be 'a green port to develop the blue economy'”

8 LNG bunker vessel

at the methane terminal, Port of Marseille Fos

8 Tom Strang, senior

vice president, Maritime Affairs, Carnival Corporation