Boluda starts towage operations in Lubmin (Germany)

Start towing operations for LubminLNG

Boluda Towage starts towing services at the German port of Lubmin for the first installation of a floating LNG storage plant. The presence in the port is a further step towards strengthening and expanding the activities of Boluda Towage Division in northwest Europe and the Baltic Sea region 

Bremen, 30 December 2022

The Deutsche ReGas LubminLNG import terminal will become the first operational FSRU-based facility in Germany. The floating storage and regasification unit is based inside the port of Lubmin, where an existing gas pipeline allows for a quick connection.

Lubmin, a small port situated in the German Bay of Greifswald, is a major transport and industry hub and an investment location in the German energy sector. 

Mid-December 2022, the 2009-built 145,000-cbm “FSRU Neptune”, arrived in Germany’s port of Lubmin to serve the new LNG import terminal. Due to the narrow space of the Lubmin harbor basin big LNG tankers are not able to enter and come alongside the FSRU facility. Therefore, a storage tanker (FSU) will be anchored outside the port and a set of three smaller LNG tankers will provide the shuttling between the FSU storage tanker and the FSRU facility.

Prior to the arrival of the FSRU Neptune, Boluda Towage and Nautitec (a well-known simulation center in Leer, Germany) investigated how to safely maneuver the FSRU Neptune into the small harbor basin of Lubmin (with a maneuver space of < 2 meters). Weeks of intensive simulation training followed, during which our Tug Masters were trained to exactly maneuver with a specialized towing setup and our Towing Master to command the towage with highest accuracy.

Based on this intensive simulation training program, the Lubmin port authorities approved the specified setup for the safe towage operations of the FSRU Neptune into the port of Lubmin. Thanks to the close cooperation with all the partners involved, e.g. Deutsche ReGas, Nautitec, local port authorities and pilots, the dedicated and well-experienced German crew of Boluda Towage was able to make the necessary preparations for the establishment of the LubminLNG terminal.

Boluda Towage Germany managing director Boris Szczesik commented: “We enjoy being part of a great team, and are grateful to support DeutscheReGas with the ambition to establish LubminLNG. We would also like to express a special thanks to Nautitec and Boluda Towage's Tow Masters and Tug Masters for taking on the responsibility. Seeing such commitment to professional preparation and accomplishment by our team makes us proud and is an example of passion for high quality service and safe towing operations."

Together with Nautitec a more specified simulation training will follow for the towing of the small shuttle tankers, which will be carried out by the four Boluda tugs. 

At the current start of operations in the port of Lubmin Boluda Towage has a fleet of four powerful tugs (VB Luca, VB Fritzi, VB Ivy and VB Henny) in a range of 60,2 ton up to 79 ton with bollard pull and firefighting capabilities. Depending on the needs and requests of customers in this port the required tug capacity can be scaled up.