Liquefied natural gas (LNG) serves as an attractive fuel for ships to meet the upcoming stringent environmental regulations enacted by IMO, particularly at the level of emission control areas (ECA). The use of LNG promises a good environmental performance and a foreseeable economic viability. However, a general absence of bunkering infrastructure in seaports is a significant barrier currently preventing the breakthrough of the use of LNG as a ship fuel.
Against this backdrop, PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom together with Siyuan Wang (University of Antwerp), on their latest study to be published in WMU Journal, titled “The Development of LNG Bunkering Facilities in North-European Ports: current practices and policy implications”, observe that public port authorities are playing a proactive role in facilitating the use of LNG as a marine fuel.
Theo and Siyuan analyze the role of port authorities in the development of LNG bunkering facilities and investigate why and how port authorities promote this new application. A multiple-case study approach is adopted to examine the performance of eight North European port authorities in their LNG bunkering projects. The study provides a deeper understanding of the current port practices in developing LNG bunkering facilities in North Europe and identifies the important role of the evolving port function beyond the tradition model in promoting innovations. The paper also proposes a set of port implementation policies on the facilitation and promotion of the use of LNG as a ship fuel.
You may freely download the port study @PortEconomics.
