LNG

SEA-LNG, the coalition established to demonstrate the commercial and environmental benefits of LNG and the pathway it provides for cleaner shipping, has signed up Nikkiso Clean Energy and Industrial Gases (Nikkiso CEIG) is the latest member company.

Nikkiso supplies equipment, technologies and engineering services to support the safe operation of LNG as a marine fuel.

“SEA-LNG’s membership will open up networking and collaboration opportunities for Nikkiso to support its work on cryogenic pumps and process systems as well as broader cryogenic services,” said a statement.

The group also works on heat exchanger systems and Nikkiso Turboexpander systems and has experience in boil-off-gas management for LNG fuelled vessels, methane slip mitigation, and integrated LNG fuel gas supply systems.

Wide options 

Peter Keller, Chairman of SEA-LNG, said that to achieve its cleaner shipping targets the industry would require a basket of fuels and technology options.

“Collaboration across the entire LNG value chain, with companies like Nikkiso, ensures that LNG will have a place as a key part of that basket,” added Keller.

“As an important marine fuel, LNG can deliver on decarbonisation now with immediate greenhouse-gas emissions reductions and that provides a low risk, incremental pathway for decarbonisation through bio-LNG and renewable synthetic e-LNG,” he stated in looking well into the future.

Peter Wagner, Chief Executive of the Nikkiso CEIG, said the the group aimed to encourage the shipping industry to swiftly adopt LNG as a marine fuel, because it provides a readily and immediately available low-carbon clean energy.

“The fuel also has the physical properties to facilitate a more efficient ship construction integration compared to alternative fuels,” added Wagner.

“This enables the maritime industry to lower emissions by a further 20 percent on the basis of clean energy and efficient ship designs,” he said.

Gradual process

Steve Esau, Chief Operating Officer of SEA-LNG, concluded that the carbon-neutral fuel solutions would not arrive in a “big-bang” process and instead there would be incremental decarbonisation of existing assets as fuel production, transportation, storage and bunkering infrastructure and engine technologies develop.

“We are excited to welcome another new member whose innovative technology and engineering expertise supports the cost-effective operation of LNG as a marine fuel today,” stated Esau.

SEA-LNG is a UK-registered not-for-profit collaborative industry foundation serving the needs of its member organisations and is committed to furthering the use of LNG as an important, environmentally superior maritime fuel.

It has members across the entire LNG value chain including providers of the product, users, engine and asset suppliers and class societies.

Chevron Corp. has said liquefied natural gas was a key component of the energy transition on land and at sea and plans to upgrade its fleet of 10 LNG carriers at the Singapore shipyard of Sembcorp Marine Ltd.

Chevron through its subsidiary Chevron Shipping Company has signed an agreement with Sembcorp Marine Repairs & Upgrades, a unit of Sembcorp Marine, to help reduce the carbon-intensity of its LNG fleet operations.

“Under the agreement, with Sembcorp Marine’s support, Chevron will install new technologies aboard Chevron vessels to support their energy transition goals,” said a statement.

“The changes are also in alignment with decarbonization targets set by the International Maritime Organization,” Chevron added.

Chevron Shipping operates a fleet of around 30 ships from conventional crude and petroleum product carriers to LNG carriers.

In addition to providing marine transportation for the company, Chevron Shipping provides technical, commercial and operational support to projects such as the Gorgon LNG and Wheatstone LNG export plants in Western Australia.

LNG technologies

Chevron said its LNG fleet plans included installing new technologies such as a reliquefication system, hull air lubrication and new gas compressors.

The company expects that all these measure together are expected to reduce cargo boil-off, lower fuel consumption and increase volumes of cargo delivered.

“We are excited to work with Sembcorp Marine to help us advance our lower carbon goals,” said Mark Ross, President of Chevron Shipping.

“We believe LNG will be a key component of the global energy transition for years to come and Chevron is focused on continuing its disciplined capital investment in our LNG fleet,” added Ross.

Chevron stated that Sembcorp Marine had significant expertise in complex LNG fleet modifications and a proven track record for lower carbon solutions for the maritime industry.

The Singaporean company will provide Chevron with engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning services and expects to complete the work by mid-2025.

“Sembcorp Marine is committed to advancing environmental sustainability through the development of industry-leading solutions,” said Wong Weng Sun, Sembcorp Marine President and Chief Executive.

“Working with Chevron on its LNG fleet upgrades is an immediate way to accelerate the lowering of the carbon footprint in the maritime industry, to achieve the IMO’s target to reduce emissions from international shipping by at least half,” added Wong. 

Sea-LNG, the UK-registered non-profit industry foundation committed to furthering the use of LNG as a cleaner and superior maritime fuel, has urged an end to the misrepresentation of the status of methane-slip risks delaying the build-out of a cleaner LNG-powered fleet.

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., the Taiwanese shipping company, said it had ordered five new liquefied natural gas-powered containerships.

Yang Ming said it had opted for LNG propulsion for its five new 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containerships.

The decision was approved by the board last week and the neo-panamax vessels would have dual-fuel engines to run on LNG as well as conventional bunker fuel.

“Yang Ming will be the first shipping company in Taiwan that owns LNG-powered containerships,” said the company.

“In the spirit of environmental sustainability, Yang Ming is using LNG for the newbuilds to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 20 percent compared with using traditional fuel,” it added.

The state-owned Taiwanese carrier said it would disclose the other vessel specifications and any shipyard transaction details at a later date.

Yang Ming, which was founded in 1972, currently operates a fleet of 92 vessels with a 7.53-million deadweight tons and operating capacity of 668,000 TEUs.

The company is ordering the LNG-fuelled ships because of tighter laws from the International Maritime Organization and the European Union against ships using polluting fuels in ports in the EU.

Yang Ming said in a statement that it would concentrate its 2022 operations in North America and Europe with the expectation that freights rates and shipping demand in the markets would remain stable amid a decline in Covid-19.

The shipping line serves ports such as Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam.

It added that the newbuild LNG-fuelled 15,000 TEUs ships were the most suitable for these markets.

While Yang Ming is headquartered in Keelung, Taiwan, it said it also operates numerous services that link Taiwan with mainland Chinese.

Other main container ports served by the company are in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.

Two Japanese trading houses, Marubeni Corp. and Mitsui and Co., which have diverse interests in the LNG sector and other industries, have completed a joint technological development programme for the demonstration of unmanned ships.

Chevron Shipping Company, which has a fleet of more than 30 tankers including 10 LNG carriers as the transportation arm of Chevron Corp., said it had joined the Sea Cargo Charter, a benchmark initiative for responsible shipping activities and transparent reporting as part of the International Maritime Organization’s efforts to reduce emissions, especially in ports.

Chart Industries, the US manufacturer of LNG liquefaction, storage and other cryogenic equipment serving the energy and industrial gas markets, has signed an accord with Canada-headquartered Ionada to pursue carbon-capture and sequestration (CCS) projects for the maritime and power sectors.

Ionada is a developer of exhaust-gas cleaning systems that reduce emissions in shipping and power plants. The accord with Chart will bring together Ionada’s technology and Chart’s expertise in carbon-dioxide storage and handling systems.

Atlanta, Georgia-based Chart is also a market leader in supplying US Gulf Coast large-scale LNG export projects, including Venture Global’s Plaquemines plant on the banks of the Mississippi River, Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi expansion in Texas and Tellurian’s Driftwood venture in Louisiana.

The company is also developing New York-based New Fortress Energy’s FastLNG production plans, while demand for Chart’s LNG vehicle tanks, fuelling stations and trailers has increased worldwide.

In moving into the CCS sector Chart and Ionada envisage making use of the US company’s onboard storage capabilities via its CO2 ISO containers or in engineered built-for-purpose type-C tanks and with the CO2 then offloaded at ports.

“Once offloaded, the CO2 can either be permanently stored in geological formations or put to beneficial use in CO2-consuming industries, such as the agricultural, industrial, energy or food and beverage sectors,” the companies explained.

“We are thrilled to partner with Ionada to help improve the carbon footprint of the shipping industry,” said Chart Chief Executive Jill Evanko.

“The solutions being developed with Ionada will greatly benefit the maritime sector and help ship owners reach greenhouse-gas emission targets set forth by the International Maritime Organization,” added Evanko.

“This is also a great example of how our equipment is agnostic to the process itself - it can work with various process solutions to offer the most flexibility to our end customers,” stated the Chart CEO.

The IMO aims to reduce carbon intensity in international shipping by 40 percent by 2030, and to cut the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008.

With cryogenic storage tank manufacturing sites all around the world, including the US, China, the Czech Republic, Italy and India, Chart said it was well positioned to supply CO2 storage and handling solutions to shipowners globally.

The London-based Baltic Exchange is starting its first full week of issuing independent indices for liquified natural gas propulsion fuel, based on vessels burning LNG rather than marine fuel oil or marine gas oil as their primary fuel.

Endesa, the largest power company in Spain and the second-largest natural gas operator, has launched a project to expand its port terminal in Los Barrios in the Port of Algeciras to capture the liquefied natural gas bunkering business around Cádiz and in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US maritime classification society, said that in a new survey liquefied natural gas and hydrogen are viewed as the frontrunners to be the fuels that will help shipping reach the decarbonization ambitions set by the International Maritime Organization.