World’s Largest LNG Bunkering Vessel Christened in Hamburg

Photo: Nauticor

Germany-based LNG bunker supplier Nauticor has christened the world’s largest liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel Kairos during a ceremony last week in Hamburg.

The christening took place last Friday at the Hamburg Cruise Center Steinwerder before more than 250 invited guests.

With a tank capacity of 7,500 m3, the MV Kairos is the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel. The ice-class vessel also features a ballast-free design and an installed CNG tank to store vapor return gas from customer vessels.

Nauticor chartered the “Kairos” via the joint venture Blue LNG, of which Nauticor has a 90 % share and Lithuanian energy infrastructure provider KN (Klaipedos Nafta) has a 10 % share. The vessel is owned by Babock Schulte Energy.

The vessel will be used to bunker large ocean-going vessels in the Baltic region and Northwest Europe.

“The christening of ‘Kairos’ today here in Hamburg, is the result of several years of thorough preparation by Nauticor’s team and its partners,” said Mahinde Abeynaike, CEO of Nauticor. “With the commissioning of the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel, the availability of LNG as fuel for shipping on a large-scale basis is secured, e.g. in the Baltic Sea. With shipping companies having access to a fuel that is not only financially attractive, but also environmentally sustainable, people and nature in Northwest Europe will benefit from a substantial reduction of emissions at sea and in port.”

Construction of Kairos started in 2016 and in February 2018, steel cutting took place at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Ulsan, South Korea, where took place in October 2018.

Kairos started bunkering operations in December.

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