DEPA signs EIB loan agreement to build LNG supply tanker

Gas utility DEPA has signed a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank for the construction of an LNG supply tanker with a 3,000 cubic-meter capacity, sources have informed.

This loan agreement follows a funding agreement reached between DEPA and the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) for EU co-financing – through the new BlueHUBS program – of the LNG tanker to be built by the utility.

Planned to adopt new environmentally friendly shipping fuels,  the LNG tanker promises to be the first of its kind in Greece and the east Mediterranean. It will be designed to meet LNG supply needs at Piraeus port and also transport LNG to other major ports around the country.

DEPA, a wide supporter of LNG usage in shipping, is coordinating the BlueHUBS program (2019-2022), aiming for the development of LNG supply carriers.

Jointly supported by Greece and Cyprus, BlueHUBS represents the continuation of the Poseidon Med II program and has a total budget of approximately 66 million euros, of which 30 percent is being provided by the EU.