Sustainability Door2LNG

2016-2020 | A pioneering EU project successfully led by Containerships

DOOR2LNG (2016-2020) was a major international EU co-funded project which was initiated and coordinated by Containerships. Besides Containerships, it involved three northern European port operators (PD Ports in Teesport, Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals BV in Rotterdam, and Multi-Link Terminals in Helsinki) as project partners. The project received co-financing from the EU via the Connect Europe Facility (CEF) financing instrument and the Motorways of the Sea program and had a total project budget of EUR 55.7 million.

The successfully finalised project enabled a significant upgrade to the environmental performance of the maritime short sea shipping links between the northern European maritime core ports of Helsinki (Finland), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), and Teesport (United Kingdom). In concrete terms this was done via port investments in the three ports (new cranes, an automated gate, as well as other improvements) as well as environmental investments on board four new Containerships vessels (ARCTIC, AURORA, NORD, and POLAR) including LNG engines and advanced environmental technologies, going beyond the requirements of legislation.

The Door2LNG project introduced a competitive and more environmentally friendly alternative to long-distance road transportation on the targeted route through enabling frequent ship departures and the use of 45-foot containers offering the same loading capacity as road trailers. Through increased maritime capacity, the project results enable a modal shift, moving containers from road transport to sea.

The Door2LNG project has been a pioneering initiative for LNG in container shipping, involving solutions which had not been implemented previously. Via the LNG-powered vessels, the Door2LNG project has supported the deployment of the alternative fuel infrastructure.

Activities:

• Investments in LNG engines and additional environmental efforts onboard four newly-built Containerships vessels (ARCTIC, AURORA, NORD, and POLAR)
• Development of port infrastructure and efficient cargo handling capacity (STS cranes) in the Port of Helsinki, specifically the Multi-Link Terminal located in Vuosaari harbour, in Finland
• Development of port infrastructure and efficient cargo handling capacity (STS cranes) in the Port of Rotterdam, specifically the Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals in the Netherlands
• Development of port infrastructure, efficient cargo handling capacity (STS crane & Automated gate facility) as well as a container visibility and transparency pilot in Teesport, UK

Reached objectives:

• Decreased air emissions (SOX, NOX, PM), beyond the legislation, and reduced CO2 emissions of maritime transport between the ports of Helsinki, Rotterdam and Teesport
• Removed bottlenecks of insufficient container handling capacity in the ports
• Improved efficiency of the whole door-to-door container logistic chain
• Increased demand of LNG and deployment of LNG infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea

Door2LNG project partnership

Supporting organisations