LNG

Anglo American, the UK-listed global mining and commodties company, has taken delivery of the last of its 10-strong chartered fleet of Capesize-plus liquefied natural gas dual-fuelled bulk carriers.

The vessel, the “Ubuntu Liberty”, made its maiden voyage from China to Saldanha Bay in South Africa to collect a cargo of high-quality iron ore.

The loading marked the successful on-time delivery of all 10 ships built over the last three years by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in China.

“Launching the final vessel of our Ubuntu fleet is a very large manifestation of our commitment to more sustainable shipping,” said Matt Walker, Chief Executive of Anglo American’s Marketing business.

Dedicated

“This is testament to our dedication to a sustainable path forward for our controllable ocean freight, ensuring the delivery of essential resources to our customers around the world,” Walker explained.

“It also puts us in a market-leading position as the charterer of the largest LNG dual-fuelled Capesize-plus fleet in the world,” stated Walker.

The word “Ubuntu” carried by the ships comes from the Zulu language in Southern Africa where Anglo American has operations. The word has its roots in humanist African beliefs whereby the idea of “community” is one of the building blocks of society.

Anglo American executive Walker explained that customers had shown a keen interest in accessing the Ubuntu freight fleet, demonstrating growing recognition of the value of sustainable shipping.

“I thank Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for its collaboration to deliver these vessels on time, on budget and most importantly, with a stellar zero-safety incident record,” Walker said.

“Our gratitude also goes to all the other companies and agencies that partnered with us to make the Ubuntu fleet roll-out a success,” he declared.

The Ubuntu fleet is a key component of Anglo American’s ambition to achieve carbon-neutrality for its controlled ocean freight by 2040, aligning with Anglo American’s Sustainable Mining Plan.

Advantages

LNG dual-fuelled vessels offer an estimated 35 percent reduction in emissions compared with ships fuelled by conventional marine oil fuel and are regarded as the most efficient vessels of their type today.

Anglo American explained that since the first vessel was loaded in early 2023, the Ubuntu fleet has successfully and safely moved 6.4 million tonnes of iron ore and steelmaking coal across global shipping routes.

Additionally, the Ubuntu fleet has conducted over 30 refuelling stops for LNG in strategic locations such as Singapore and Malaysia, further demonstrating the company’s commitment to embracing sustainable fuel alternatives.

Four of the vessels, the “Ubuntu Harmony”, the “Ubuntu Equality”, the “Ubuntu Integrity” and the “Ubuntu Loyalty” are all flagged in Singapore, an LNG bunkering hub.

Two more of the 10 LNG-capable vessels, the “Ubuntu Unity” and the “Ubuntu Community” fly the Greek flag.

The remaining four vessels fly the Red Ensign of the UK. They are the “Ubuntu Empathy”, the “Ubuntu Humanity”, the “Ubuntu Sincerity” and the “Ubuntu Liberty”.

French LNG storage designer GTT will supply the tanks for six more LNG-powered containerships ordered from South Korea by France’s Marseille-based shipping group CMA CGM.

The six containerships are being constructed at the Korean shipyard of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

The vessels, each capable of carrying 8,000 containers, will be equipped with an LNG fuel tank with a capacity of 6,000 cubic metres. Each LNG tank will be fitted with GTT’s Mark II Flex membrane containment technology.

The deliveries of the vessels are scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025.

GTT noted that the CMA CGM order brings the total number of containerships to 80 that will have LNG capability and be equipped with the Paris-based firm’s storage tanks.

“This order underlines the renewed confidence of our partner CMA CGM in GTT's technologies to equip its LNG-powered container ships,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“The GTT group is proud to put its technological innovation at the service of the decarbonisation of global maritime transport,” added Berterottière.

China-built vessels

CMA CGM is a pioneer of LNG-powered containerships and has about 12 more of the vessels being built in China.

The shipping line has said it aimed have a fleet of 44 LNG-fuelled containerships by 2024.

The 12 China-built vessels will be delivered between the last quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024.

The construction contracts for those CMA CGM newbuilds were awarded to Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard Co.

Each of the Chinese yards is building six vessels able to carry between 13,000 and 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of containers.

The first ever LNG-powered containership was delivered to CMA CGM from the Hudong-Zhonghua yard and entered commercial operation in September 2020.

The 23,000 TEU “CMA CGM Jacques Saadé” was named after the late Lebanon-born founder of the shipping line and father of current Chairman Rodolphe Saadé.

Dec 4 (LNGJ) - Burckhardt Compression, the Swiss-based liquefied natural gas equipment provider, won an order consisting of eight low-pressure systems for boil-off gas (BOG) management.

   “The compressor solutions are destined for two 14,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) and two 690 FEU (forty-foot equivalent units) container vessels ordered by C-LNG Solutions, a Singapore-based leader in LNG fuel gas solutions and LNG cargo handling,” said Burckhardt. “All ships will be equipped with WinGD X-DF propulsion systems and will be built at a Chinese shipyard with the option for 16 more vessels,” said the company, whose headquarters are in Winterthur.

BHP, the Anglo-Australian global commodities company, has awarded the world’s first LNG-fuelled bulk carrier tender to a Singapore-based shipping line with the aim of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 30 percent per voyage while delivering iron ore from Western Australia to China.