LNG

Elengy, the French LNG import terminal owner, and TotalEnergies said that France’s first LNG bunkering vessel, “Gas Vitality”, has loaded a cargo at the Fos Cavaou LNG terminal, located west of the Mediterranean port of Marseille.

Oct 13 (LNGJ) - Italian utility Edison and Knutsen OAS Shipping of Norway have held a naming ceremony at the northeast Italian port of Ravenna for the 30,000 cubic metres capacity LNG carrier, “Ravenna Knutsen”. The vessel will serve a small-scale LNG import terminal joint venture at the port.

   The terminal will supply at least 12,000 trucks and up to 48 ferries per annum with LNG fuel. Edison and Spain’s gas grid operator Enagás are shareholders in the Italian facility and are cooperating on developing small-scale LNG use in the Mediterranean region of both Italy and Spain. “The vessel is pivotal in the first integrated small-scale LNG logistics chain in Italy, which Edison has built to promote the decarbonisation of maritime and heavy transport,” said Edison.

Avenir LNG, the Norwegian small-scale LNG business, said the carrier “Avenir Accolade” would deliver the commissioning cargo to the latest Italian regasification terminal on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia after making its way from Asia.

Avenir, a joint venture between London-based Stolt-Nielsen and partners Höegh LNG and Golar LNG Ltd., took delivery of the 7,500 cubic metres capacity dual-purpose LBV “Avenir Accolade” in March 2021 from the Keppel Offshore and Marine shipyard in the Chinese port of Nantong.

The “Avenir Accolade” has an overall length of 124 metres and her beam is 18 metres.

Avenir said a ship-to-ship bunkering of the “Avenir Accolade” was carried out on April 26 by its sister ship, the “Avenir Advantage”, off Pengerang in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia.

The Maltese-flagged “Avenir Accolade” is scheduled to transit the Suez Canal on May 15 into the East Mediterranean, according to shipping data.

“We’re thrilled to see the ‘Avenir Advantage’ alongside the ‘Avenir Accolade’, the first time they are back together since leaving the shipyard in Nantong,” said Peter Mackey, Chief Executive of Avenir LNG Ltd.

Schedule

“We look forward to welcoming the ‘Avenir Accolade’ to our HIGAS terminal in Sardinia in a few weeks’ time with the commissioning cargo onboard,” added Mackey.

“We continue to make significant strides in executing our strategy for Avenir LNG,” the CEO explained.

“The Avenir team and the crews onboard our vessels deserve a huge amount of praise for all they have accomplished during these enormously challenging times,” he stated.

Stolt-Nielsen started up the small-scale LNG sector firm Avenir in 2015 and its two main investors, Golar and Höegh, each have 22.5 percent of Avenir.

In addition to its growing small-scale fleet Avenir has an 80 percent stake in the small-scale Higas terminal being commissioned in May.

The terminal is located at the Port of Oristano and includes a jetty capable of receiving LNG vessels up to 20,000 cubic metres, an unloading arm, six horizontal cryogenic holding tanks of 1,500 cubic metres capacity each, two LNG truck-loading bays and a natural gas power generation system.

The Sardinian terminal will be capable of loading around 8,000 LNG trucks each year for subsequent distribution to smaller satellite stations across the island in a classic version of a targeted small-scale LNG project.

Sardinia currently lacks a system of access to natural gas and only a small number of industrial customers receive LNG by truck which is brought to the island by ferry.

French energy major Total and Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines have attended a naming ceremony in the Dutch port of Rotterdam for the “Gas Agility”, the world’s largest LNG bunkering vessel.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French technology firm for designs of systems for the maritime transportation and storage of liquefied natural gas, has been chosen by Marseille-based shipping group CMA CGM to provide services for its LNG-powered container ships.

GTT said it would provide assistance for the commissioning, operation and maintenance of CMA CGM’s future 23,000 TFE (twenty-foot equivalent) LNG-powered container ships equipped with GTT membrane containment technologies. 

Paris-based GTT noted that with 18,600 cubic metres capacity LNG tanks, these ships will be the largest container ships in the world to use LNG as fuel.

Bunkering vessels owned by French energy major Total and Mitsui Osk Lines of Japan will supply 300,000 tonnes per annum of LNG fuel to CMA CGM and its nine ultra-large newbuild containerships set to operate on the Europe-Asia trade route.

The GTT service package includes the training of crews of the CMA CGM fleet through the provision of the G-Sim training simulator, specially adapted to replicate the LNG operations of CMA CGM vessels.

“GTT will also provide on board technical assistance during the commissioning of LNG tanks and during the first bunkering operations,” explained the tanks designer.

It explained that, if necessary, CMA CGM may use a GTT service called “Hears” to obtain 24/7 technical assistance. 

“Thanks to the data continuously collected on board, the GTT teams will be able to assist and advise CMA CGM teams as closely as possible,” said GTT.

“In addition, the analysis tools integrated in the connected version will allow a follow-up over time of the tanks and their insulation spaces,” it added.

The company said its GTT services portfolio facilitates a smooth entry into the world of LNG for ship-owners.

“We are constantly expanding our range of services to meet the new expectations of ship-owners and are therefore very pleased to be able to support CMA CGM in the commissioning, operation and maintenance of its LNG-powered vessels,”  said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

CMA CGM is one of the world’s largest container vessel operators with over 500 ships.

The first of the ultra-large LNG-power containerships took to the water at the Shanghai Jiangnan-Changxing Shipyard in October 2019 at an event attended by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM.

The first of the nine newbuilds was named “CMA CGM Jacques Saade” after the shipping line’s Beirut-born founder who died in June 2018. 

Gibraltar has formally opened its liquified natural gas import terminal as the British overseas territory switches from diesel power to gas-fired electricity and promotes cleaner fuel for shipping visiting the port.

The French Mediterranean port of Marseille-Fos, the nation’s largest trading port, is developing plans for the construction of liquefied natural gas bunkering infrastructure to boost the regional use of LNG as a maritime fuel and reduce the impact of emissions.