Zeebrugge Starts Simultaneous Yamal LNG Transhipments

The Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium has facilitated its first simultaneous transhipment of Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

On May 1, 2018, LNG from Sabetta on the Siberian peninsula Yamal was transhipped simultaneously in Zeebrugge from an ice-class vessel into a conventional LNG carrier for further transport to Asia.

The Russian ice-class LNG tanker 'Eduard Toll' transferred LNG into the Pskov, another LNG tanker, via the shore pipes at quays 615 and 616 of the Fluxys terminal in the outer port.

Eduard Toll recently secured a major milestone for Arctic shipping after becoming the first vessel to independently pass through the northern sea route at one of the coldest times of the year.

In 2015 the terminal of Fluxys was selected as transhipment hub for liquefied Siberian natural gas from the Yamal gasfield.

Read the Port Technology technical paper 'Shipping on the Northern Sea Route', which explains more about the activity between Novaya Zemlya island in the west to the Bering Strait in the east

In the port of Sabetta, new installations have been built for LNG liquefaction activities.

The contract will result in Zeebrugge handling an annual transshipment of 107 LNG loads from ice-class vessels to conventional LNG vessels or 214 vessel movements in the port.

In winter time, when the northern sea routes are frozen in Siberia, the ice class LNG vessels will shuttle from Sabetta to Zeebrugge.

Read more: Yamal LNG has appointed GAC Russia to manage its fleet of ice-breaker tankers at Sabetta port for the next three years