Genoa – Customs clearance at sea or preclearing, already operational since 2014 at the office of the Livorno Customs and Monopolies Agency for goods in containers, and from 2021 for single-customer ships transporting goods in bulk, it is now extended to single-customer ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) destined for the Golar Tundra regasifier ship moored at the Port of Piombino. The Golar Tundra is one of the four existing regasification plants in Italy, awaiting the arrival of the new Ravenna regasification plant, which is expected to come into operation in 2025.
The regasification vessel, purchased by Snam on government mandate with the aim of differentiating energy supply and reducing dependence on gas imports from Russia following the crisis generated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, entered Piombino on 20 March 2023 and came into operation in July of the same year. It is supplied at regular intervals by methane tankers, which transport LNG at a temperature of -160°C. The LNG is then transferred to the Fsru tanks (floating storage and regasification unit) via unloading arms, to then be regasified. The regasification process is achieved by introducing the LNG into a heat exchanger into which a hotter liquid flows, normally sea water, whose natural temperature is sufficient to return the gas to its gaseous state. The methane at room temperature obtained from the regasification process is then compressed and introduced into a gas pipeline that starts from the Fsru and reaches the national transport network.
For a few days, for a duration of 6 months, the experimentation of “customs clearance at sea” has begun, aimed at streamlining and speeding up LNG traffic in the port area of Piombino. The procedure allows operators to anticipate the presentation of the manifest of arriving goods and the related customs declarations before the ship arrives in port, making use of the monitoring system of the Port Authority.
In total the Piombino regasification terminal received 28 shipsfor a total of approximately 2 billion cubic meters of gas injected into the national network.
