(Yicai Global) Feb. 25 -- The port of Shanghai, the world’s busiest port in terms of cargo tonnage, will open a liquid natural gas refueling facility next month, making it the first in the country and the third in the world to offer the green service.

The port of Shanghai will be able to provide LNG refueling services from the middle of next month, China News Service reported yesterday, citing an official from the Lingang New Area of Shanghai’s free trade zone which has been given the greenlight by city authorities to permit the refueling of international vessels with new fuels from March 1.

Only the port of Rotterdam and the port of Singapore have LNG refueling stations so far, but more and more LNG-powered vessels are becoming part of global fleets as the shipping industry undergoes a green transformation. Last year there are orders for 240 LNG-fueled ships worldwide, more than the sum in the previous four years, according to Norwegian classification society DNV.

The port of Shanghai’s container throughput rose 8 percent last year from the year before despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic to 47 million twenty-foot equivalent units, making it the busiest port in the world for the 12th straight year.

Editor: Kim Taylor