Quebec-based Transport Desgagnés christened and launched its LNG-fueled chemical tanker, the Mia Desgagnés.
The vessels, claimed by Transport Desgagnés to be the world’s first polar-class dual-fuel oil/chemical tanker, marks a second milestone for the company that named and launched the first dual-fuel asphalt-bitumen-chemical tanker, the Damia Desgagnés, last year.
President and CEO, Louis-Marie Beaulieu , said the vessel, representing an investment of over C$50 million, including C$0 million for the additional dual-fuel/LNG motorization, with a C$700,000 financial contribution by the Quebec government.
Beaulieu added the Desgagnés team had to meet a number of major challenges, including integrating the innovations and new technologies on these vessels into its operations and developing a maritime LNG distribution network that was almost inexistent up to that point.
With a deadweight capacity of nearly 15,000 tons and tanks with a capacity exceeding 17,000 cubic meters, the Mia Desgagnés, built at the Besiktas shipyard in Turkey, will transport refined petroleum products or chemicals.
The vessel, capable of running on three different types of fuel, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), was delivered in December last year, and also features its individual LNG bunkering equipment enabling it to receive LNG by using up to 4 tanker trucks simultaneously.