The first purpose-built liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel Engie Zeebrugge has been delivered from Hanjin Heavy Industries at the Yeongdo shipyard in Busan, Korea.
Handed over to the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), French multinational electric utility company ENGIE, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Belgium-based Fluxys, the new dual fuel vessel features a length of 107.6 meters and a width of 18.4 meters.
With a capacity of 5,000 cm of LNG, the vessel will be able to bunker vessels at the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, as well as other nearby ports, supplying LNG as a marine fuel to ships operating in Northern Europe.
The two LNG-fueled pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) operated by United European Car Carriers will be its first customers.
On its maiden voyage, the 7,403 gross ton vessel will run on LNG after a few days of loading LNG delivered by trucks at the shipyard.
ENGIE Zeebrugge will load LNG at Fluxys’ LNG terminal in Zeebrugge, where small carriers with capacities from 2,000 m3 can dock at the recently commissioned second jetty.
The delivery comes on the back of the launching of a new brand named Gas4Sea by ENGIE, Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK in September 2016.
The parties initiated Gas4Sea in an effort to jointly provide marketing for ship-to-ship LNG bunkering services worldwide, firstly via the Engie Zeebrugge in Northern Europe.
Under this common brand, the three partners intend to support the development of LNG as a marine fuel.