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GSI receives LNG PCTC orders Chinese shipbuilder Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) has secured orders to build LNG-fuelled pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) from H-Line Shipping and BYD Group. The orders include two LNG dual-fuel PCTS for H-Line with a capacity of 8,600. The vessels will be chartered to Hyudai Glovis. Tote hits North American bunkering milestone Fuelling specialist Tote Maritime has completed the 300th operation with its bunker vessel, Clean Jacksonville, the first LNG bunker barge in North America. The milestone was completed at Jax LNG in Florida by subsidiary Tote Services which operates the barge. The Clean Jacksonville also supplies Tote’s Marlin class LNG-powered vessels in Jacksonville, Florida. The Clean Jacksonville was built by Conrad Industries and features a single GTT LNG tank with capacity of 2,200 cubic metres. Slow start to 2023 for newbuild orders The first month of 2023 saw no new confirmed orders for LNG-fuelled ships, according to the latest figures from certification agency DNV. ‘The year has come off to a slow start for orders on alternative fuelled vessels, however February is already looking more promising,’ said Martin Wold, Principal Consultant in DNV’s Maritime Advisory business. More competitive gas prices in January are expected to boost demand over the course of the year. The total number of LNG-fuelled ships ordered in 2022 fell compared to 2021, from 240 to 222. China trials fuel tank replacement bunkering The first successful refuelling of LNG by the novel tank replacement method has been completed in China, with two vessels bunkering fuel in in Xuzhou, northwestern Jiangsu province. The process involved the LNG-fuelled containerships Hongyuan Xuzhou and Hongyuan Wuhan and replacement of movable fuel tanks, each containing 17 tonnes of LNG. “This kind of movable LNG fuel tank supplying gas to cargo ships is like replacing batteries for new energy vehicles,” Miao Xiaochao, Team Leader of CNOOC Jiangsu LNG Tank Replacing Project Team, reportedly said. “This model is the first in China. The whole process only takes 15 to 30 minutes, which is 60% to 70% shorter than the traditional filling method.” The new method is particularly beneficial for inland transport where a lack of available stations on China’s main rivers has limited LNG uptake. Following refuelling the ships set sail on the Jiangsu section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. |
