Keppel Offshore & Marine through its unit, Keppel Singmarine, has secured an S$50 million ($37.5 million) contract from FueLNG to build South East Asia’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel.
Scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2020, the dual-fuel LNG bunkering vessel will have a capacity of 7,500 cubic meters, Keppel O&M said in its statement.
FueLNG, a joint venture between Keppel O&M and Shell Eastern Petroleum, will receive a grant of up to S$3 million as part of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) LNG Bunkering Pilot Programme (LBPP).
The vessel will be built to the MTD 7500U LNG design, a proprietary design of Keppel O&M’s ship design and development arm, Marine Technology Development (MTD).
Capable of running on both LNG and marine diesel oil is also capable of harnessing boil-off gas which would otherwise be flared off. It is also designed with a barge-like extended flat surface to maximize vessel compatibility which will enable FueLNG to deliver LNG bunkers to a wide range of vessels, Keppel O&M said.
As emissions standards tighten globally, the industry is seeing increasing demand for LNG-fuelled ships, with 123 LNG-fuelled ships in operation and 150 on order as of early 2018.
To meet this increasing demand, oil majors like Shell are expanding their LNG bunkering capabilities to increase the availability of LNG across the world. Having this capability in Singapore will complement the already established LNG bunkering infrastructure in key ports across the world.