1st Call at Montoir de Bretagne by a Q-Max, the World’s Largest LNG Carrier

At Montoir de Bretagne, the liquefied natural gas terminal operated by Elengy, a part of the ENGIE Group, has just welcomed the Q-Max Al Mayeda, the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier ever to be received in the Region. Owned by Qatar (hence the "Q" in Q-Max), Q-Max type vessels are the largest LNG carriers in the world. Measuring 345 metres (or nearly four football pitches) in length and 54 metres in breadth, the vessel is capable of transporting 267 000 m3 of LNG, which represents 10 times the consumption of Nantes Metropolis over the course of an entire year.

Located at the Port of Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire, the Montoir de Bretagne facility possesses many advantages: a privileged geographical position on France’s Atlantic Seaboard, a site at the entrance to Loire Estuary, with a wide access channel, and high-quality port infrastructures and services. Regularly modernized and upgraded, not only is the facility able to receive vessels of this size, but it also constitutes a particularly attractive point of entry for LNG into France and its neighbouring markets. In this way, these last years, the Montoir de Bretagne LNG terminal was the leading facility for LNG vessel-to-vessel transhipment operations in Europe, a service that it provides in complete safety thanks to its two landing stages.
Since it first came into service in 1980, the Montoir de Bretagne LNG terminal has received more thant 210 different liquefied natural gas carriers, out of a worldwide fleet comprising 570 such vessels. The consignments of LNG which they transport come not only from Qatar but from countries as diverse as Russia or Australia, among others.

As the European gateway for the gas market, the Elengy industrial complex at Montoir de Bretagne forms a major hub on a worldwide level. Today, as a responsible industrial company, Elengy is looking for other uses and solutions built around LNG, and is committed to the process of energy transition alongside the port professionals involved. Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port notably relies on the LNG sector in its energy and ecological transition initiative for the Loire Estuary.