The Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed an agreement that finances up to €20 million for the construction of a new LNG bunkering vessel in Greece, based in Piraeus.

The 3,000 cubic metre (cbm) capacity vessel – which is ‘the first of its kind in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean’ – will be supplied with LNG at the Revithoussa LNG terminal and will ‘refuel ships both in Piraeus and other ports in Greece and the wider region’.

The vessle will be supplying ships both in Piraeus and in other ports in Greece and the wider region, supporting the transition of shipping to more environmentally friendly fuels, as required by the new stricter international regulations.

The agreement was signed by Konstantinos Xifaras, Chief Executive Officer of DEPA, and Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice-President, in the presence of the President of the Board of Directors of DEPA, Ioannis Papadopoulos, who said: ‘The new financing from the EIB, the largest investment arm of Europe, is yet one more vote of confidence to the growth prospects of the Greek economy and confirms the significant improvement of the investment climate. It comes in support of a crucial investment in the area of natural gas, which is at the centre of global developments and contributes to the transformation of Greece into a regional hub.