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Repsol and Enagas have carried out Europe's first supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel directly from a regasification plant to a vessel.

The Damia Desgagnes received 370 cubic metres (cbm) of LNG in a bunker supply operation which lasted around five hours in Cartagena.

Repsol acted as LNG bunker supplier, whilst Enagas, operator of the regasification plant in Cartagena, acted as infrastructure manager.

The pipe-to-ship bunker operation was carried out using flexible cryogenic hoses that connected the ship directly to the terminal.

This supply of 370 cbm represents the largest bunker operation to date in Spain - and for Repsol, which in previous operations had supplied up to 320 cbm via tanker truck deliveries.

As previously reported, the Damia Desgagnes is the world's first dual-fuel, LNG-powered asphalt tanker. Owned by Canada's Groupe Desgagnes, the next-generation tanker is the first of a series of four carriers custom-built according to an original concept developed by Desgagnes and ordered to be built at the Besiktas shipyard near Istanbul, Turkey.

The 15,000-deadweight-tonne, double-hulled vessel is equipped with a Wartsila 5RT-flex 50DF engine and a power output of 5,450 kilowatts (kW). It can be powered by either heavy fuel oil, marine distillates or LNG.

The collaboration between Repsol, Enagas and the Port Authority of Cartagena is part of the CORE LNGas Hive project, which is co-financed by the European Commission, coordinated by Enagas and led by Spain's National Ports Authority.

In the Port of Cartagena, the project aims to convert one of the piers at Enagas's regasification plant to offer small-scale bunkering. This initiative has a budget of 2.73 million euros and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Image: The Damia Desgagnes being bunkered at Enagas's regasification plant in Cartagena, Spain - Europe's first supply of LNG as fuel directly from a regasification plant to a vessel.