Keppel Offshore & Marine’s unit, Keppel Singmarine, is on track to deliver South East Asia’s first dual-fuel LNG tug to Keppel Smit Towage following the naming of the vessel.
The vessel was named KST Liberty at a ceremony held at Keppel Singmarine on Wednesday, the company said in its statement.
The 65-tonne bollard pull LNG dual-fuel Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tug was built to Keppel’s design.
Singapore’s ministry of transport permanent secretary, Loh Ngai Seng , said, “Today’s christening of KST Liberty marks an important milestone in Singapore’s journey to make LNG bunkering available at our port as early as 2020.”
He added that the project between Keppel O&M and Keppel Smit Towage, under MPA’s LNG bunkering pilot programme, to build and operate Singapore’s first LNG-fuelled vessel is regarded as a step closer to cleaner and more sustainable marine fuels
The LNG fuel is carried in containerized, type-C ISO-certified tanks on the main deck of the vessel, and refueling can be done by truck-to-ship operations or replacing the empty tanks with replenished ones. It is also equipped with an LNG vaporizer.
Shell will be supplying the LNG fuel to KST Liberty while FueLNG, a joint venture between Keppel O&M and Shell Eastern Petroleum, will be providing the LNG bunkering services. The LNG bunkering will be conducted at Jurong Port which is able to support LNG bunkering operations.