Singapore — Singapore’s FueLNG — a joint venture between Keppel Offshore & Marine and Shell Eastern Petroleum — along with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, has completed Singapore’s first ship-to-ship bunkering of an LNG-fueled oil tanker, marking another milestone in Singapore’s efforts to become an LNG bunkering hub.
FueLNG completed the gas-up and cool down operation for the LNG-powered oil tanker Pacific Emerald, including the transfer of 3,000 cu m of LNG from FueLNG Bellina, Singapore’s first LNG bunkering vessel, to the tanker, FueLNG, Keppel Offshore & Marine, Shell and the MPA said a joint statement May 7.
Pacific Emerald is the first of 10 newbuild Aframax tankers chartered by Shell Tankers Singapore from Sinokor Petrochemical.
“We see increased interest in LNG-fueled vessels with more of such new vessels on order across various ship types. We look forward to an increase in uptake of LNG as a marine fuel in the Port of Singapore,” MPA chief executive Quah Ley Hoon said in the statement.
Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering port and has been at the fore of promoting cleaner fuels for sustainable shipping.
The city-port has been developing LNG bunkering capabilities under an LNG bunkering pilot program and has also partnered with other port administrations to establish a global network of LNG bunker-ready ports and co-funded the construction of LNG-fueled vessels.
The move is also in line with FueLNG’s commitment to promote LNG as a marine fuel, as well as Keppel’s Vision 2030 which includes seizing opportunities in LNG.
This milestone follows the completion of Asia’s first ship-to-containership LNG bunkering operation by FueLNG in March.
The bunkering of the Aframax oil tanker also reflects FueLNG Bellina’s capabilities to provide LNG bunker and conduct the gas-up and cool down operation for receiving vessels with different types of cargo tanks such as Type B and GTT membrane tanks, the statement said.
FueLNG said it aims to provide around 30 to 50 ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operations in 2021, adding that besides the Aframax tankers, it has also lined up bunkering operations for containerships, chemical oil tankers and bulk carriers.
LNG an immediate option
Emissions are cumulative, and the shipping sector simply cannot afford inaction, Tahir Faruqui, director of FueLNG and head of Shell Downstream LNG, said in the joint statement.
“Shell is actively investing in building a global LNG bunkering network to support the sector with capabilities to tackle emissions with urgency. We are also investing in LNG for our own long-term charter fleet to deliver our products like the oil tanker fueled today,” he added.
LNG is the lowest-emission fuel available at scale in the shipping sector currently, industry sources said separately, adding that LNG’s viability is proven on a well-to-wake basis, with LNG capable of reducing GHG emissions by about 23% compared with standard conventional fuels.
“It’s clear the industry needs LNG as a transitional fuel to get us to 2030; it could also support the transition to zero-carbon and carbon-neutral fuels that are required to get us to 2050 such as hydrogen,” Christopher J. Wiernicki, chairman, president and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping said, in a statement posted on the ABS website May 4.
“LNG remains the clear choice today because of its sheer scalability, growing availability and high technological readiness among low-carbon and low-emission fuels, where hydrogen and ammonia appear to be emerging as significant fuel types for tomorrow,” he added.
