The LNG bunker vessel has hit yet another significant milestone by reaching 18 mark and there are 6 such vessels in service and a further 12 on order.
LNG STS bunkering
The LNG ship-to-ship (STS) bunkering is currently in its fifth year, as the 180-m3 LNG bunker vessel (LNGBV) Seagas, a converted small Norwegian ferry, entered into service in Stockholm harbour in 2013 to fuel the passenger/car ferry Viking Grace with 70 tonnes of LNG most days of the week. Until last year Seagas remained the sole practitioner of this method of fuelling LNG-powered ships. It was only in 2017 that the new LNGBV era really began to take hold, when the first three purpose-built LNG fuellers entered service.
LNG trio
The trio are Zeebrugge-based, 5,000-m3 Engie Zeebrugge, 6,500-m3 Cardissa in Rotterdam and 5,800-m3 Coralius, serving in the western Baltic Sea, including the Skagerrak.
These inaugural ships, and the many other LNGBV newbuildings set to follow, are enabling the growing fleet of gas-powered ships to be fuelled in a safer and more timely and efficient manner than is possible with jettyside truck-to-ship LNG transfers. For the large dual-fuel ships on quick port turnaround timetables now entering service, LNGBVs are recognised as the only viable option.
Last year was also notable for the newbuilding contracts for four 7,500-m3 coastal LNG carriers, comprising two for Korea Line and two for Stolt-Nielsen Gas, and all scheduled for 2019 completions. Although only one of the Korea Line ships has been definitively earmarked for LNGBV duties, all four are set to be provided with the ability to carry out STS fuelling operations.
New contracts
The 2017 newbuilding contracts complemented an order for a new LNGBV placed in 2016. This is 7,500-m3 LNGBV Kairos that Korea’s Hyundai Mipo yard is building for Babcock Schulte Energy, a Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement/Babcock International joint venture. Kairos is due for commissioning in September 2018 and is profiled on page 22 of this issue.
With Klaipeda in Lithuania serving as its home port, Kairos will be chartered by Blue LNG, a Nauticor/Klaipedos Nafta joint venture. Clients will include Gothia Tanker Alliance, the Swedish operator of a fleet of regional North/Baltic Sea chemical/product distribution tankers that run on LNG.
Brisk start to 2018
As the new year commenced, LNGBV fleet developments continued apace. During the first five weeks of 2018 an LNGBV almost three times the size of any such vessel yet built was ordered, while the first Spanish LNG STS fuelling operation, utilising a newly converted bunker barge, was carried out in Bilbao.
For more information, visit here
Did you subscribe for our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: LNG World Shipping
