LNG specialist Skangas is set to receive its newbuild LNG bunker vessel - Coralius - in June from shipyard Royal Bodewes in the Netherlands.
The Coralius will have capacity for 5,800 cubic meters of LNG and will be operated by Swedish fuel provider Sirius Rederi. The vessel’s main area of operation will be from the Kiel Canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein up to mid Norway, via the North Sea.
“Currently we bunker by truck and directly from our terminals, along the coast. From June this year, however, our customers can experience swifter and more flexible bunkering operations than ever,” Tor Morten Osmundsen, CEO of Skangas, said.
The Coralius is owned by Dutch gas tanker line Anthony Veder and was developed in partnership with Skangas and Sirius Shipping. The three companies announced that the design drew upon “their individual broad LNG experience” with the aim of creating “a flexible, efficient and safe system” for LNG bunkering.
Skangas predicts significant rise in LNG fuelling
The new vessel will measure 100 meters in length and will be equipped with the latest fast transfer technology to ensure larger volumes of LNG can be transferred at high rates. The vessel is also designed to carry out LNG refuelling operations either in port or at sea.
“LNG as marine fuel becomes even more accessible in our area by ship-to-ship bunkering,” Osmundsen said.
The Coralius holds a Finnish/ Swedish Ice Class 1A classification making it equally capable of accessing the remote areas of Norway as the industrial heartlands of Northern Germany.
“By 2020 there will be nearly 200 vessels worldwide running on LNG. This number is expected to rise significantly, as LNG is recognized by the shipping industry as the most viable alternative fuel to reduced emissions,” a spokesperson for Skangas commented.
Skangas is a joint venture between Finnish natural energy gas expert Gasum (51%) and Norwegian electricity group Lyse Energi (49%). The firm is one of the largest LNG suppliers in the Nordic region and provides fuel for shipping, industrial and heavy-duty road transport needs.
