Watson, Farley & Williams (“WFW”), a leading international law firm, is pleased to announce that it has advised Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co. KG (“Bomin Linde LNG”) on the first supply agreement in Germany for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) as marine fuel. The low-emission propulsion fuel will be delivered to the shipping company Aktien-Gesellschaft EMS (“AG EMS”) for one of its ferries in the German port of Emden.

AG EMS dates back to 1843 and operates the shipping line service from Emden and Eemshaven to the North Sea island of Borkum. Passengers, vehicles and freight are transported on modern car ferries, passenger ships and a high-tech catamaran.

To improve the environmental conditions in and around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, including the English Channel, in 2006 these areas were declared Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The pollution reduction requirements for these areas will take full effect in 2015, leaving ship-owners with little time and a limited number of options on how best to comply with these requirements. One solution that many owners are exploring is switching to LNG as marine fuel.

Bomin Linde LNG has a broad range of expertise in refrigeration engineering, logistics and refuelling technology through its parents Linde AG and Bomin Deutschland GmbH & Co., a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls AG. The company is currently putting the finishing touches on its plans to meet the future LNG demands of the German ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven as well as of the Dutch port of Rotterdam but, in the long run, aims to provide LNG as marine fuel to all German ports along the North and Baltic Seas.

The WFW team was led by London-based senior associate Heike Trischmann and WFW Hamburg partner Sebastian Baum.

Heike Trischmann, senior associate at WFW in London, said: “We are delighted to have advised Bomin Linde LNG on the first-ever supply of LNG as a marine fuel in Germany. This landmark contract, along with their planned construction of LNG bunker terminals in the ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven as well as in the port of Rotterdam, ideally positions Bomin Linde LNG to meet the increasing demand for LNG as marine fuel by German and Dutch ports.

“WFW’s long-standing expertise in the shipping sector, combined with our experience in long-term LNG supply contracts and LNG projects generally, complimented the needs of Bomin Linde LNG during this first step of their exciting plans. Our London and Hamburg offices worked seamlessly to provide Bomin Linde LNG with the high quality support our clients have come to rely upon.”