The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, through State Ports, has presented a unified model of tender for the service of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply as fuel to vessels in Spanish ports. The document establishes a common framework that seeks to ensure consistency, transparency, and legal security in the contracting of this port service, while facilitating the expansion of the use of LNG as an alternative fuel in the context of the energy transition of the maritime sector.
The supply of LNG to vessels, known in the sector as bunkering, has consolidated in Spain as a strategic service within the state port system. In 2025, the volume of LNG supplied in Spanish ports exceeded 8.1 terawatt-hours (TWh), a figure that represents a fourfold increase from just two years earlier. This growth has been favored by the progressive increase in vessels powered by this type of fuel and by the development of specific infrastructure for its supply in the main ports of the country.
The unified model of tender includes key aspects for the regulation of the service, such as the different supply modalities —via floating means, with tanker trucks, and by pipeline—, the duration of the authorizations, and the conditions and means necessary to guarantee the safety and environmental quality of operations. The document will serve as the basis for the specific tenders that each port authority prepares, with the aim of improving efficiency both in granting authorizations to operators and in executing the service.
The preparation of the document has been the result of the work of a group constituted by the General Secretariat of Air and Maritime Transport, with the participation of the General Directorate of Merchant Marine, State Ports, the Association of Spanish Shipowners (ANAVE), and Gasnam. The objective has been to establish homogeneous criteria in the technical, operational, and legal aspects that govern the supply of LNG in the port area.
During the presentation of the document, the Secretary General of Air and Maritime Transport, Benito Núñez, stated that "the exponential growth of LNG bunkering as maritime fuel in Spanish ports evidences our firm commitment to this supply." Núñez added that "the work we present today consolidates Spain's vocation as a strategic hub in southern Europe for sustainable fuels."
For his part, the president of State Ports, Gustavo Santana, emphasized that "this document is key to the role that Spanish ports play in the energy transition."
The new common regulatory framework aims to contribute to the competitiveness of the Spanish port system in the European context, by establishing the conditions for LNG supply operations to be carried out safely, efficiently, and sustainably.