Titan Clean Fuels (Titan), part of the Molgas, has entered into a long-term agreement with shipowner Sogestran Group for the construction, charter and operation of a new 6,000-cbm LNG bunker vessel (LNGBV).

According to an announcement, Titan plans to operate the vessel throughout the western Mediterranean, where it will be capable of loading LNG from a series of terminals in the region and offering LNG and liquefied bio-methane (LBM) bunkering, as well as gassing-up and cooling-down services to LNG-fuelled vessels calling at major ports including Fos-Marseille, Barcelona and Genoa.

The arrangement expands the Molgas's presence in the Mediterranean by adding ship-to-ship LNG and LBM bunkering services alongside its existing truck-to-ship and onshore downstream LNG distribution capabilities.

The vessel was jointly developed and designed by teams from both Titan and Sogestran to cater to the navigational, operational and commercial characteristics of western Mediterranean ports, LNG reloading terminals and receiving vessels in the region. It will be constructed by CIMC SOE, a Chinese shipyard specialising in small and medium-sized gas carriers.

Once delivered, the new LNGBV will join the Molgas's overall fleet of eight LNG bunker vessels operating across Northern Europe — six forming part of Titan's fleet and two trading for Molgas Norway.

Grégoire Hartig, Commercial Director at Titan, remarked: "We're excited to grow our LNG bunker vessel fleet by expanding our capacity to cater to our clients in terms of bunkering volume and geographical location. LNG and LBM have proven to be the leading alternative fuels as the shipping industry continues its energy transition, and we intend to match this growing demand. We are very much looking forward to Titan, part of the Molgas Group, becoming a prime LNG and LBM bunkering supplier in France and the Mediterranean."

Benoist Grosjean, Managing Director of Sogestran Shipping, stated: "Co-developing this vessel with Titan has been an exciting challenge. Thanks to our in-house engineering capabilities and the close collaboration established with Titan's technical teams from the earliest stages of the project, we have been able to design a tailor-made vessel perfectly suited to the operational requirements of the western Mediterranean. Its low-air-draft design will enable it to bunker cruise ships without the use of a pontoon. Moreover, the vessel itself will be LNG/LBM-fuelled, contributing to the decarbonisation of maritime transport."

The timing of the partnership comes against the backdrop of the Mediterranean becoming a sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM) emission control area (ECA) on 1 May 2025, with Sogestran noting that LNG and LBM can almost eliminate SOx and PM emissions compared with oil-based fuels, offering ECA compliance and a reduction in local pollutants.

Headquartered in Madrid, Molgas operates downstream LNG and renewable gases across Europe, providing a range of services, including ship-to-ship, truck-to-ship and terminal-to-ship operations, whilst Sogestran provides conventional marine fuel bunkering services in Marseille, as well as in Spain and Algeria.

Based in Amsterdam, Titan performs ship-to-ship (STS) deliveries via owned vessels in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region, and truck-to-ship (TTS) operations from various ports in Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and the UK.