Energy multinationals Naturgy and Enagás, through their subsidiary Scale Green Energy, remain on schedule with the construction and long-term chartering of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel Mistral LNG. The unit, which is scheduled to enter service in 2028 after construction begins in 2026, will be capable of operating in the Canary Islands. Its arrival will provide the archipelago’s docks with state-of-the-art floating infrastructure for bunkering decarbonized marine fuels and bio-LNG along the mid-Atlantic corridor.
The vessel will have a cargo capacity of 18,900 cubic metres and a length of 138.8 metres, placing it among the largest units in Europe’s maritime fuel-bunkering segment. Designed with dual-fuel propulsion and a range of more than 4,500 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 13 knots, Mistral LNG will feature advanced technological systems aimed at reducing harmful emissions during ship-to-ship fuel-transfer operations.
Atlantic coverage and the positioning of the island ports
Mistral LNG’s operations will cover the Iberian Peninsula, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic routes that connect to the Canary Islands. The availability of this bunkering vessel addresses the need to equip the port facilities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife with refuelling services adapted to the next generation of container ships, cruise vessels and LNG carriers operating in the region. Naturgy’s long-term charter of the vessel strengthens the company’s position as a gas supplier in the domestic market, while Scale Green Energy will assume the ship’s technical and operational management.
The addition of this unit expands the fleet operated by Enagás in southern Europe, joining bunkering vessels already in service such as Levante LNG, Alisios LNG and Haugesund Knutsen. The country’s energy infrastructure network, which has seven regasification terminals adapted for supplying gas to ships and storage facilities, will strengthen through this project the supply chain needed to serve commercial fleets making operational or transit calls at the islands.
Compliance with European maritime-emissions regulations
The deployment of Mistral LNG is aligned with the European Union’s regulatory framework for decarbonizing maritime transport, which requires progressive reductions in the carbon intensity of fuels used by the commercial fleet. The increase in orders for gas- and bio-LNG-powered merchant vessels—global orders for which have risen sharply in recent years—has directly driven greater demand for low-emission bunkering services at Atlantic logistics hubs.
The vessel’s equipment for directly supplying bio-LNG will allow maritime operators using the Canary Islands routes to access fuel from renewable sources without having to modify their main mechatronic systems. This floating infrastructure strengthens the competitiveness of the archipelago’s ports compared with other hubs in the Atlantic region and North Africa, ensuring the continuity of clean-fuel supply services along the international trade corridor.
The article “Bunkering: Naturgy and Enagás confirm LNG bunkering at Santa Cruz de Tenerife port from 2028” was first published on canarymaritime.com.
