The first liquefied natural gas refuelling in the port of Genoa took place on 4 December 2025. According to GNV, the operation involved the ferry GNV Virgo, the company’s new vessel and the first Italian long-distance ferry fuelled by LNG and operating on a regular service. The bunkering was carried out in cooperation with Axpo Italia, with support from the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority and the Genoa Harbourmaster’s Office.
The ship-to-ship operation was attended by key national and local institutions, underscoring public interest in infrastructure regarded as strategic for the energy transition of the sector. Procedures were conducted in line with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Transport in May 2025 governing the bunkering of LNG and bio-LNG in Italian ports.
A distinguishing element of this first operation concerns the nature of the fuel used. The refuelling employed exclusively bio-LNG produced from organic biogas, tracked through the mass-balance system established by the EU Renewable Energy Directive and certified under ISCC. The transferred volume, totalling 500 cubic metres, enables the vessel to complete a round trip on the Genoa–Palermo route with net greenhouse gas emissions reduced to zero, according to the company. GNV sees this result as a step forward in the gradual introduction of low-impact alternative fuels, while acknowledging that the availability of bio-LNG on the market remains limited and dependent on investment in the production chain.
In achieving this first operation, the port of Genoa reaches an operational capacity that places it in line with other European ports developing alternative fuels. The process now under way will allow the definition of dedicated regulations for bunkering all LNG and bio-LNG vessels calling at the Ligurian port, following tests carried out in recent weeks by the Harbourmaster’s Office with the involvement of port technical departments.
GNV Virgo will be permanently deployed on the Genoa–Palermo route and will help reduce emissions in port and coastal areas. The vessel is designed to cut CO2 emissions by around 50 per cent per transport unit compared with previous-generation ships, thanks also to provisions for cold ironing, selective catalytic reduction systems, and heat-recovery technologies compliant with IMO Tier III and EEDI Phase II requirements. With a gross tonnage of around 52,300 tonnes, a length of 218 metres and a loading capacity of 2,770 lane metres, the vessel represents the technical model with which the company plans to continue renewing its fleet, which includes a further five LNG vessels scheduled to arrive by 2030.
The cooperation between GNV, Axpo Italia and port authorities forms part of the European framework for decarbonising maritime transport and national policies promoting alternative fuels. The experience gained through this bunkering operation will enable the port of Genoa to carry out further similar operations in the coming months, supporting the entry into service of the new vessel and consolidating the infrastructure needed to expand the use of LNG and bio-LNG in Italian cabotage.
