Shell’s fleet of barges, to be built by Netherlands shipbuilder VEKA at a Polish yard, will have six-cylinder 20DF dual-fuel main engines from Wärtsilä for its propulsion.
The fleet of 15 new LNG-fueled inland product tankers were ordered by Plouvier Transport NV and Intertrans Tankschiffahrt AG under a time charter agreement with a Shell subsidiary.
- 300-foot product tankers will support the growing operations of Shell in the Netherlands and Germany.
- The company wanted LNG’s small environmental footprint and low cost, but also desired the ability to switch to diesel fuels as needed.
- Shell puts forwards that LNG will play a bigger role in the worldwide fuel mix and wants to support the growth of LNG bunkering in Europe.
The Barges will have:
- A 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel main engine,
- An LNGPac fuel gas handling system, and
- A Wärtsilä propeller with an HR nozzle.
The delivery of the barges are expected from 2016 through 2018.
Shell’s barges will refuel with LNG from the Gas Access to Europe (GATE) terminal in Rotterdam.
Seperately, the Port of Antwerp announces that:
- LNG will soon become “permanently available” for bunkering with construction of a new terminal.
- A bidding process for a concessionaire to operate the bunkering station will start in 2016.
The port authority stated, “With the construction of a bunker station in 2017, LNG will become permanently available in the port at all times.”
The port, along with 30 partners all over Europe in the Rhine-Main-Danube LNG Master Plan, has focused on making LNG fueling and transport a reality for Europe’s inland tanker fleet, which includes Shell’s 15 yet-to build vessels.
The first LNG-fueled European barge, the Sirocco, announced in 2014, was also developed as a part of the Rhine-Main-Danube LNG Master Plan.
Source: Trade Newswire
