Shell Western LNG has signed a deal with cruise ship giant Carnival to supply LNG in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean to the world’s first LNG-powered cruise ships. This is effective from 2019.
The two ships in question will also be among the largest cruise ships on the water. Last month, Carnival signed an agreement to build three LNG-fuelled ships with Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku, expanding its orderbook to seven LNG-fuelled cruise ships.
Shell will refuel one Carnival cruise ship from the 6,500m³ dedicated LNG-bunker supply ship that it will base from next September at Gate Terminal, Rotterdam. It said that the second ship is expected to refuel at one of the ports in the western Mediterranean. Which port has yet to be confirmed.
Shell general manager downstream Lauran Wetemans, while speaking to LNG World Shipping in Amsterdam this summer, said the company has had talks about LNG bunkering with the ports Gibraltar and Barcelona. It is not clear whether either is involved with the Shell-Carnival supply talks.
Carnival will launch its first LNG-fuelled cruise ships in 2019 under the Germany-based AIDA Cruises and Italy-based Costa Cruises brands.
Time-charter deal
In December, Shell Trading Rotterdam signed a time-charter deal with Plouvier Transport and Intertrans Tankschiffahrt covering 15 new inland dual-fuel barges that will mainly run on LNG. Deliveries will start at year-end and will be complete by summer 2018. Shell says the barges will refuel “via a combination of truck-to-ship locations and bunker stations linked to the Gate Terminal”.
Unique partnership
Mr Wetemans said today that they have been working closely with Carnival to get to this point in our commercial partnership. Working together from an early stage is critical in helping the transition to cleaner LNG cruising. This is a unique partnership that will contribute to a robust and reliable LNG fuel-supply chain, along with opportunities for future growth.
Shell and Carnival are among the 14 founder members of SEA\LNG, the cross-shipping forum launched in July to promote and accelerate use of LNG as marine fuel.
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Source: Shell
