Norwegian LNG supplier Skangass announced today that it will make LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) more readily available as marine fuel in the Skagerrak, Kattegat and Baltic Sea areas via a new 5,800 cubic meter bunkering vessel that will be built by Royal Bodewes shipyard in the Netherlands. The newbuild order was placed today by Sirius Veder Gas AB, a joint venture owned by Anthony Veder Group and Sirius Rederi.
Once delivered in early 2017, the vessel will be placed on long term charter to Skangass.
“Recently, we entered into our first ship-to-ship bunker contract with NEOT in Finland,” says Tor Morten Osmundsen, CEO of Skangass. “Building the new vessel Coralius is the natural step for meeting this demand, and further developing our marine LNG supply chain. Although we already satisfy our marine clients’ needs by truck-to-ship and terminals-to-ship bunkering, we need to further develop the infrastructure. By doing so, we will also be in a much stronger position to meet steadily rising demand for LNG.”
Sirius Rederi notes the vessel will feature a dual-fuel engine, thrusters to facilitate enhanced close-quarters maneuvering and ice class notation (1A) which will allow it to trade in the Baltics during the winter.
“We are committed to developing energy-efficient solutions for small to mid-size LNG shipping,” saysJan Valkier, CEO of Anthony Veder. The Coralius will be his company’s fourth small-scale LNG carrier operating in the Northern European area.