In a year, Eesti Gaas has bunkered half of Tartu’s consumption of gas to MS Megastar

Today a year ago AS Eesti Gaas bunkered their first load of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to MS Megastar operating between Tallinn and Helsinki. A year later, the number of bunkering operations has risen to 680.

Megastar bunkering 

Quantitatively 12,300 tonnes of LNG have been bunkered to Megastar, which converted into pipe gas units totals 18 mln m3 or half of Tartu city’s yearly gas consumption.

“Looking back, the biggest challenge was to be ready for the client in time because we were left with less than a year for preparations,” says Margus Kaasik, Member of the Board of AS Eesti Gaas. “Because this was our very first LNG project, we began with drawing up normative documents, developing technical solutions and getting all consents and licences from scratch,” admitted Kaasik. Additionally, the company needed to find a transport company, buy trailers meeting all the standards, and train their personnel. And yet all the preparations were done, all the trucks running, and all the people familiar with their tasks by the time the deadline arrived.

By now, the company’s eight semi-trailers have covered 600,000 kilometres in delivering the LNG. “We mainly buy the fuel from Pskov that’s 350 kilometres away, the trucks need to cross the border twice a day, and keeping a smooth schedule demands good planning. On the other hand, a year’s worth of bunkering has been an invaluable experience for Eesti Gaas,” stated Kaasik.

Depending on the needs of the ferry, Eesti Gaas bunkers two to four trailers per night to Megastar berthing in the Old City Harbour. LNG is bunkered straight from the trailer to the ship and the whole process takes up to 4 hours.

Aside from the Pskov plant, Eesti Gaas has delivered LNG from Poland, Finland, and Lithuania. “We’ve successfully managed all our logistics up until now,” added Kaasik.