A joint venture has been initiated between Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. and Shell Eastern Petroleum to construct the first LNG bunkering vessel in Southeast Asia.
FueLNG
FueLNG is the first LNG bunkering vessel in Southeast Asia. Keppel Corporation as it will enable FueLNG to be the first in Singapore to provide ship-to-ship LNG bunkering services within the Singapore port.
Chris Ong, chairman of FueLNG and CEO of Keppel O&M, said: “Capable of running on both LNG and marine diesel oil, the vessel’s features include bunkering without tug assistance, as well as propulsion and power management systems that optimize fuel consumption”.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has been at the helm of several initiatives to promote Singapore as an LNG bunker-ready port.
Increasing dependence on LNG
The usage of LNG as a marine fuel has been increasing at a steady rate ahead of upcoming environmental rules in shipping, including the International Maritime Organization’s global sulfur limit rule for marine fuels.
The IMO has decided to cap sulfur in marine fuels at 0.5% worldwide from January 1, 2020, from 3.5% currently. This applies outside designated emission control areas where the limit is already 0.1%.
Most LNG variants have no detectable sulfur, and emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxide by LNG-fueled vessels are considerably lower than other marine fuels and helps tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
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Source: Platts
