PN proposes LNG bunkering services on Hurd’s Bank

A Nationalist Party in Government would create an offshore Mediterranean maritime fuel hub as a new economic niche in the country, PN Leader Alex Borg said on Tuesday.

Malta currently offers traditional fuel bunkering services, he said, but added it does not offer bunkering services for LNG, a fuel he said will be used by many in the shipping industry.

This service would be based on Hurd’s Bank. It would make use of a floating storage and regasification unit and single point mooring systems. The hub would also be able to take future fuels which could be used by the shipping industry, Mr Borg said.

He said that this is an economic niche that will not result in the creation of pressure on the country’s infrastructure, and in its first three years of operation, will be estimated to generate €450 million in revenue.

Mr Borg also said that the hub would be operational by the end of the next legislature.

The project would also mean that the LNG tanker based in Delimara would be removed, he said. A subsea pipeline from the hub to Delimara would be installed instead.

The project would be worked through a Public-Private-Partnership with EU funds.

The use of Hurd’s Bank, Mr Borg said, would permit ships to use bunkering services without entering Maltese ports, which, he added, would help reduce maritime traffic in Maltese ports and waters, reducing the ecological impact in Maltese ports while also helping the ships save time.

PN MP Ivan Castillo provided a breakdown of the project’s timelines. Within the first 100 days of the next legislature, should the PN be elected to govern, a clean fuels task force would be set up, which would include Malta Enterprise, the Ports Authority, REWS, among others.

It will consolidate the studies already carried out and the economic, environmental and commercial frameworks. In the second year, the regulatory framework would be drafted, as would the framework for the PPP. Between the 3rd and 5th year, the project will be constructed, testing will take place and before the legislature closes, the project would be finalised.

Oliver Cini, a maritime engineer, said that a system would be implemented to monitor the pressure lines and also to monitor air quality.