Energy major Shell has released details of its latest LNG bunker vessel design, featuring a specialised loading arm to provide safer bunkering for a wider range of ships.
The LNG bunker vessel will feature 6,500 cubic metres of storage and is designed to deliver fuel at a rate of 1,000 cubic metres of LNG per hour.
“It will be the biggest seagoing LNG bunker vessel with high maneuverability and will open up a new market in the marine transport industry… There is a need for more LNG infrastructure and a reliable supply chain,” a spokesperson for Shell said.
The specialised loading arm will allow the vessel to provide safe bunkering to a wider range of ships, from small coastal to large transatlantic ships.
The new Shell LNG Bunker Vessel is contracted under the “ReaLNG project co-financed by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility. The project aims to develop LNG as a commercial reality in the North Sea-Baltic region.
SCF deal to fuel giant LNG-fuelled vessels
Earlier this month, the firm Shell to supply the world’s first LNG-fuelled Aframax tankers. The four giant tankers will be amongst the largest LNG-fuelled vehicles in operation on the planet and will operate in the Baltic Sea and Northern Europe transporting crude oil and petroleum products.
The ice-classed, dual-fuelled tankers will be operated by Russian operator Sovcomflot and are scheduled to come into operation beginning in the third quarter of 2018. Shell Western LNG will provide refuelling capabilities from a specialised LNG bunker vessel at the Dutch Gate terminal at the port of Rotterdam and from a second undisclosed supply point in the Baltics.
“This is an important next step for gas as part of the energy mix. We are proud to work with SCF Group to make these LNG-fuelled Aframax crude oil tankers a reality,” Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director at Shell, said.
“This is another marine segment embracing the benefits of LNG fuel, making it clear that LNG will play a key role in helping the shipping industry meet new emissions regulations.”
Shell has consistently backed the development of LNG fuelling infrastructure and as a founding member of technology consortium Project Forward has backed research into the supply of LNG fuelling solutions for globally-trading bulk carriers, tankers and container vessels.
