---

Neste and AS Tallink Grupp have agreed to continue their cooperation in 2017, which will see Neste supply low-sulphur marine fuel to Tallink Grupp's vessels calling at Finnish ports.

"We are very pleased to continue our cooperation with AS Tallink Grupp, one of the largest passenger and freight shipping companies in the Baltic Sea region. Sustainability and investing in high-quality customer service are common denominators of our companies. Our premium-quality, low-sulfur marine fuel meets the stricter regulations and is easy to adopt to lower sulfur emissions," said Panu Kopra, Executive Vice President, Oil Retail at Neste.

Tallink Grupp's ferry business, which bunkers fuel in Helsinki and Turku, reports a positive experience with the supplier.

"We began cooperating with Neste already in 2015. In particular, we appreciate Neste's reliability as a supplier, their logistics expertise and their added value services. Fuel deliveries have been quick, safe and punctual. Neste's low-sulphur fuel suits us well due to its environmental friendliness and technical properties," commented Tarvi-Carlos Tuulik, Head of Ship Management at Tallink Grupp.

Current EU and international regulations demand lower sulphur emissions from ships operating on the Baltic Sea, North Sea and English Channel. Neste is currently offering two low-sulphur marine fuels (Neste MDO DMB and Neste RMB) with sulphur concentrations of less than 0.1 percent.

"We are proud that our marine fuels have helped our customers to reduce their sulphur emissions. We will continue to develop our products and services further to serve our customers even better," Kopra added.

Neste distributes its low-sulphur marine fuels from its terminals in Naantali and Kokkola. Fuel can be trucked to all Finnish ports, and ships are bunkered ex-pipe at the Porvoo and Naantali refinery harbours. The company has also time-chartered the M/T Lotus for bunkering in Helsinki.

In June, Neste reported that the new solvent deasphalting (SDA) unit at its Porvoo Refinery will enable the firm to produce a heavier product with a sulphur content of under 0.1 percent. This new 'RMG-type product' is expected to be launched towards the end of 2017.

Speaking at the time, Tallink Group's Tarvi-Carlos Tuulik said that Neste's low-sulphur marine fuel had improved the energy efficiency of the company's engines by an average of three percent compared with heavy fuel oil.

Also in June, Bunker Index reported that Neste had provided the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California with a supply of a newly established biodiesel - a hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD) called Neste Renewable Diesel (formerly NEXBTL Renewable Diesel) - during a year-long project that tested biofuel on the research vessel Robert Gordon Sproul.

Last month, Neste confirmed that it will begin supplying low-sulphur bunker fuel in Sweden from its Sodertalje terminal - located around 30 kilometres southwest of Stockholm - on 1st January 2017. The supply operation is to primarily serve the Stockholm area, but will also be able to distribute low-sulphur bunker fuel to other locations on the east coast of Sweden.

Earlier this year, Tallink christened its first LNG-powered fast ferry, the Megastar. While the ship will be able to run on marine distillate fuel, its main fuel is intended to be LNG. Delivery of the Megastar is anticipated in the early part of 2017.