Spain’s First Bio-LNG Ship-to-Ship Bunkering Operation

Switzerland-headquartered renewable energy producer Axpo has wrapped up what it described as Spain’s first bio-LNG ship-to-ship (STS) bunkering operation within the large container shipping segment.

As disclosed, the supply of biological liquefied natural gas was conducted on August 7 at the Port of Algeciras.

The initiative reportedly involved an STS transfer of over 4,000 cubic metres of ISCC-certified Bio-LNG to the CMA CGM Foet Bourbon, a 168-meter-long container vessel built by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and delivered to French maritime transport giant CMA CGM in November 2024.

According to representatives from Axpo, the bio-LNG was sourced through virtual liquefaction at the Enagás Regasification plant in Cartagena, a ‘vital’ liquefied natural gas infrastructure hub in the Mediterranean region. The regasification facility is understood to have been ISSC EU-certified since July last year.

As divulged, the bio-LNG bunkering operation follows similar ‘milestones’ Axpo check-marked as ‘done’ in Spanish ports, including Algeciras, and Málaga, and Portugal’s Port of Sines.

To be specific, in March 2025, the Swiss clean energy player supplied a boxship owned by compatriot shipping heavyweight Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) with liquefied natural gas at the Port of Málaga. The bunkering involved the provision of 2,800 metric tonnes of LNG, which was transferred to MSC’s vessel by a unit chartered from the UK-based midstream LNG & BioLNG company Avenir LNG.

Around a month later, Axpo conducted what it hailed as the ‘inaugural STS LNG bunkering’ Port of Algeciras. As Offshore Energy reported at the time, the operation was completed using the 7,500 cgm small-scale LNG ship Avenir Aspiration, which supplied approximately 5,000 cbm of liquefied natural gas to MSC’s Maria Cristina.

LNG: A demand with no throttle

According to Greek shipbroker Intermodal’s March 2025 report, the number of LNG-capable ships has been on a steady upward trajectory, totaling 1,329 units able to use liquefied natural gas as fuel (as of the aforementioned month), thus representing roughly 6.56% of the worldwide fleet. To compare, only 558 of such vessels existed in 2021.

Thanks to regulatory pushes toward more climate and environment-friendly operations, particularly in the shipping industry, and the rise of LNG-ready ships, the need for more robust bunkering infrastructure to supply this fuel has also seen an uphill trend.

In 2023, there were 185 ports that offered LNG bunkering services; however, it is understood that this number has since increased to 201. What is more, per Intermodal, the estimates are that an additional 57 ports could soon be upgraded to offer these services, with new facilities inaugurated and opened by the end of 2026.