Axpo has completed its first ship-to-ship bio-LNG bunkering operation at the Port of Barcelona, transferring fuel to Mitsui OSK Lines’ (MOL) car carrier Lapis Ace from Axpo’s LNG bunker vessel Green Pearl.
It is the third such operation the Swiss energy company has conducted at a Spanish port for MOL, following earlier operations at Málaga and Algeciras.
Axpo noted that it has been selected as a bio-LNG supplier to MOL across the Mediterranean, providing bunkering services at the Spanish ports of Málaga, Algeciras and Barcelona. The arrangement extends an existing supply agreement with MOL in Western Europe that began in March 2025.
Daniele Corti, Axpo’s head of small-scale LNG, commented: “The bunkering operation with MOL in Barcelona represents another key moment for LNG deployment in Spain. Not only are we developing infrastructure, we are demonstrating that alternative marine fuels can be operationally reliable and cost-effective. As demand for LNG and bio-LNG continues to grow, Axpo’s recent operations in Algeciras, Málaga and now Barcelona show that this is no longer a niche market. It is a fundamental step in the maritime industry’s transition towards a lower-carbon future.”
Axpo’s presence at ports in the Iberian Peninsula has expanded since 2025. In April of last year, the company completed its first LNG delivery at Málaga, followed by further operations at Algeciras and Sines in Portugal — carried out using the 7,500-cbm Green Pearl, for which the firm holds a ten-year commercial agreement.
As previously reported in March 2026, Axpo Iberia was recently granted a six-year licence to supply LNG at the ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandía. During the same month, the company chartered the fuel tanker Alisios LNG at the Port of Huelva. The bunker vessel is designed to handle both conventional LNG and bio-LNG for marine fuel operations.
Beyond Spain, Axpo conducted what it describes as Italy’s first ship-to-ship bio-LNG bunkering operation in December 2025, and in May 2026 completed the first LNG bunkering of a cruise ship at the port of Naples.
