LNG ship fuel supply to be available in Port of Montreal

M/T Damia Desgagnés, the first of four LNG fueled tankers to join the fleet of Quebec City headquartered Groupe Desgagnés

MAY 20, 2017 — Quebec’s largest distributor of natural gas, Gaz Métro, and the Port of Montreal report that an LNG solution for marine transportation will now be available in the Port.

The news follows the delivery of the M/T Damia Desgagnés, the first of four LNG fueled tankers to join the fleet of Quebec City headquartered Groupe Desgagnés (see earlier story).

Groupe Desgagnés, Gaz Métro and the Port of Montreal joined efforts to develop an LNG supply system that will be operated by a Gaz Métro subsidiary. This system will be available to all shipowners in Quebec, including the fleets passing through the Port of Montreal. r.

“I would like to commend the leadership and vision of Groupe Desgagnés, which was the first commercial shipowner to order vessels destined to navigate in Québec able to use LNG as marine fuel,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of Gaz Métro, Sophie Brochu. “Québec can be proud to have Groupe Desgagnés among its visionary companies, as was the Société des traversiers du Québec. LNG is currently one of the best solutions available to replace petroleum products in the maritime sector, due to its environmental assets. In particular, it respects new Canadian and international maritime transportation standards that aim to minimize the emission of air pollutants.”

“I praise Groupe Desgagnés’ forward thinking, which is very inspiring for Québec’s maritime industry,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Port Authority (MPA), Sylvie Vachon. “The Port of Montreal shares this vision to exercise positive leadership in sustainable development practices and, in this context, the LNG fuel supply solution that will be available on our docks is another significant and concrete action toward making commercial shipping even more environmentally friendly.”

Gaz Métro and the Port of Montreal say they hope that the availability of LNG supply solutions will be a first step in encouraging shipowners to follow the lead taken by Groupe Desgagnés .