The presence in the port is a further step towards strengthening and expanding the activities of Boluda Corporación Marítima’s International Towage Division in northwest Europe and the Baltic Sea region.
The Deutsche ReGas LubminLNG import terminal will become the first operational facility based on a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Germany, a plant located within the port of Lubmin, where an existing pipeline enables a fast connection to the port of Lubmin.
Lubmin, a small port located in the German Bay of Greifswald in the Baltic Sea region, is an important industrial transportation hub and an investment location in the German energy sector.
In mid-December 2022, the 145,000 cubic meter FSRU Neptune, built in 2009, arrived at the German port of Lubmin to service the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal. Due to the narrow space in the Lubmin harbor basin, large LNG carriers cannot enter or approach the FSRU facility. Therefore, one storage vessel (FSU) will be anchored outside the port and a set of three smaller LNG carriers will provide transportation between the FSU storage vessel and the FSRU facility.
Prior to the arrival of the FSRU Neptune, Boluda Towage and Nautitec (a well-known simulation center in Leer, Germany) investigated how to safely maneuver the FSRU Neptune in the small harbor basin of Lubmin (with a maneuvering space of less than two meters). They undertook weeks of intensive simulation training, during which the company’s Tug Masters were trained to accurately maneuver in a specialized trailer configuration and learned how to man the trailer as precisely as possible.
Based on this intensive simulation training program, the Lubmin port authorities approved the specific configuration for safe towing operations of the FSRU Neptune in the Lubmin harbor. Thanks to close collaboration with all partners involved, including Deutsche ReGas, Nautitec, local port authorities and pilots, Boluda Towage’s dedicated and experienced German crew was able to make the necessary preparations for the establishment of the LubminLNG terminal.
Boluda Towage Germany managing director Boris Szczesik commented: “We enjoy being part of a great team and are grateful to help DeutscheReGas with the ambition to create LubminLNG. We would also like to dedicate a special thanks to Nautitec and Boluda Towage’s Tow Masters and Tug Masters for taking on the responsibility. Seeing such commitment to professional preparation and accomplishment by our team makes us proud and is an example of passion for high quality service and safe towing operations.”
Together with Nautitec, a more specific simulation training for the towing of small vessels will be carried out by Boluda Towage’s four tugs.
At the current start of operations in the port of Lubmin, Boluda Towage has a fleet of four powerful tugs (VB LUCA, VB FRITZI, VB IVY and VB HENNY) in the range of 60.2 tons up to 79 tons with fixed-point pulling and fire fighting capabilities. The required tug capacity can be expanded according to the needs and requests of the clients in this port.