LNG

Spanish energy company Repsol said the first terminal in Spain to supply liquefied natural gas as marine fuel was growing its customer base and a second LNG bunkering facility in the same region was under development.

Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) Ltd, the Greek-owned shipping line with over 70 vessels in operation or ordered including LNG vessels and various classes of oil tankers from Aframax to Panamax and Very Large Crude Carriers, has given an overview of the market since the start of the Russian conflict in Ukraine.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of maritime liquefied natural gas storage and fuel tanks, has received an order from the Chinese Jiangnan shipyard for tank designs for four very large LNG-powered containerships on order for the leading Asian shipping company, Pacific International Lines.

Each vessel will be able to carry 14,000 20-feet equivalent units (TUE) containers and are scheduled to be delivered from the Chinese yard progressively from the second-half of 2024 through to the first half of 2025.

“The LNG fuel tank of each vessel will offer a capacity of 13,800 cubic metres and will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system,” said GTT.

“These tanks will include unique features to facilitate a potential conversion of these vessels to ammonia, giving PIL greater operational flexibility in case of changes in environmental regulations,” added the French company.

In addition to the engineering services and on-site technical assistance, GTT explained that t would assist PIL through every step of their first LNG-fuelled project.

GTT said this would include commissioning of the LNG tanks, first LNG bunkering operations, as well as further specific LNG operations and maintenance of the vessels.

Crew training

Moreover, GTT will provide LNG training for the crews, supported by its proprietary G-Sim® training simulator, which replicates the future LNG operations of the vessels.

PIL will also benefit from GTT’s HEARS® emergency response service with 24/7 technical assistance.

The vessels will also be fitted with the “GTT Digital” platform, a Smart Shipping solution for monitoring and optimising their operational performance as well as their environmental footprint.

“We are very pleased that PIL has selected our fuel tank and that the collaboration with Jiangnan continues with this new order,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“We are convinced that LNG is the solution of choice to reduce the shipping industry’s carbon footprint.,” he added.

Lars Kastrup, Co-President and Executive Director of PIL, said earlier that the contract to build the four 14,000 TEU LNG dual-fuelled vessels was part of a plan to continue optimising the fleet for key markets.

“At the same time, it is aligned to our total commitment to reducing PIL’s carbon emissions by tapping on the latest technologies available,” added Kastrup.

Dutch shipbuilder Ferus Smit has launched the latest LNG-powered oil-chemical tanker for the shipping company Thun Tankers based in southern Sweden.

The vessel, named “Thun Equality” is the third ship in the E-Class series being built for Thun Tankers.

The shipyard based in Westerbroek in the Netherlands noted that the new tanker would be fuelled by LNG with a pressurized tank installed on the tank deck.

The 7,999 deadweight-ton ship has a total of 9,540 cubic metres of capacity and is suitable for International Maritime Organization class II chemical cargoes.

“As the delivery of the first Ferus Smit tanker to Erik Thun dates back nearing 20 years, this new ship will be the third unit in renewal of the fleet of 10 coastal tankers that were delivered to Erik Thun by Ferus Smit over the past years,” said Ferus Smit.

“We are proud that Ferus Smit had again trusted us to build the succeeding series as well,” added the Dutch shipyard.

“The new design is a completely revised and updated version of the existing design, that has proven herself over the years as a benchmark in the coastal tanker market,” added Ferus Smit.

“Focus for improvements has been to further optimize efficiency and the ecological footprint,” explained the shipyard.

The other main dimensions of the “Thun Equality” are length 115 metres, width 15.87m and draft 6.95m.

The Ice-class will be 1A FS, suitable for year-round service in the Baltic Sea.

Propulsion will be provided by the 2999 kW, 6L34DF main engines supplied by Finland’s Wartsila.

The largest cruise liner ever built for Carnival Cruise Corp. of the US, the LNG-powered liner “Mardi Gras”, has begun a series of sea trials from the Finnish Meyer Turku shipyard ahead of moving to its base in Florida to begin operations in February 2021 as the cruise industry continues to boost future demand for LNG maritime fuel.