Poseidon Med II Promotes LNG as a Marine Fuel in the E. Mediterranean

The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a safe and eco-friendly fuel for maritime transportation was the subject of Poseidon Med II's half day awareness event at the Conference Centre of the University of Patras on December 7, 2018. The event was co-organised by the University of Patras and had over 150 attendees, validating the strong interest from the academic community.

Students that sat throughout the three hour presentations had the chance to learn about the characteristics and properties of LNG, its merit as an environmentally friendly fuel, as one of the alternatives to conventional marine fuels. The audience has also had the chance to be guided through the project's main activities and milestones achieved to date, and thus get familiar with the safety and commercial aspects of LNG in the maritime sector. Overall, the elements of an LNG efficient supply chain were unlocked and future steps in building a solid infrastructure were presented.

The event commenced with the first speech by Professor D. Margaris who is heading the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, School of Engineering, University of Patras. The professor presented the characteristics of LNG, its transportation routes and the roadmap for its wider adoption in Greece.

The architecture behind small scale LNG infrastructure (M. Fotiadou/ DEPA), the capabilities of the LNG Terminal Station in Revithoussa (J. Florentin/ DESFA), the results of air pollution studies at ports (K. Sfetsioris/ CERTH), the regulatory framework for the supply of LNG to vessels (A. Kouvertari/ LR), the outcome of ports’ studies, relating to risk assessment and the permitting process (A. Boutatis/ ROGAN), vessels LNG retrofit designs (S. Michos & N. Vrachatis/ HELENGI); were topics that were touched upon by each Poseidon Med II partner.

The event concluded with a Q&A session, where the panel of speakers conveyed a positive message that LNG has indeed a strong share in the alternative fuels market that is now coming into life, being competitive in price as well as providing environmental and social benefits to the local community.

What is the Poseidon Med II project?

The Poseidon Med II project is a practical roadmap which aims to bring about the wide adoption of LNG as a safe, environmentally efficient and viable alternative fuel for shipping and help the East Mediterranean marine transportation propel towards a low-carbon future. The project, which is co-funded by the European Union, involves Greece, Italy and Cyprus, along with six European ports (Piraeus, Patras, Lemesos, Venice, Heraklion and Igoumenitsa) and the Revithoussa LNG terminal. The project brings together top experts from the marine, energy and financial sectors to design an integrated LNG value chain and establish a well-functioning and sustainable LNG market.

The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.