Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) has ordered Scotland’s first LNG bunkering facilities which will be used to supply two new dual-fuel ferries operating in the Hebrides.
The contract to design and install the facilities at Uig and Ardrossan has been awarded to Danish company Kosan Crisplant to fuel Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) ferries.
Uig is on the west of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, while Ardrossan is located on the west coast of Scotland at the Firth of Clyde.
CMAL, the state-owned body that owns and manages ferries and ports, has two dual-fuel ferries on order at Glasgow’s Ferguson Marine Engineering shipyard, but have been heavily delayed.
Fully automated
Each bunkering installation will be a fully automated and remote-monitored facility with around 150-cbm LNG holding tank capability.
“The facilities will be operated by CalMac on behalf of CMAL and are expected to be ready for operation in 2022 as part of major upgrade works at Uig and Ardrossan harbours,” CMAL said.
The contract includes a five-year maintenance agreement with annual service, call-out support remote monitoring and diagnostics to track performance and operation of the facilities.
“We were keen to identify a complete solution with design, delivery and service, and Kosan Crisplant put together a customised package that will deliver that,” CMAL senior technical manager and projects director Andy Crossan said.
“This marks an important milestone in the use of LNG fuel in Scotland’s maritime transport.
“It follows an expansion of LNG bunkering facilities across Europe as increasing numbers of ferry companies turn to LNG as a cleaner fuel to achieve emission reduction targets.”
