The vessel is meant to operate in Northern Europe and intended to serve the emerging marine LNG market for the container ships segment.
As the first ever vessel capable of supplying large quantities of LNG in a single bunkering operation, she will be aimed especially at supplying CMA CGM’s newbuild LNG mega-container ships, in the wake of TMFGS’ 10-year supply contract of 300 kt per annum sealed in December, as well as other sailing on the Asia-Europe trade.
The highly manoeuvrable 135m vessel will be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and fitted with a Mark III membrane containment system provided by GTT.
To be operated by MOL’s UK unit MOL (Europe Africa) Ltd, the vessel will be able to operate safely in the harbours and terminals she is designed for and meet the highest environmental standards through the use of LNG as a fuel and through a complete reliquefaction of the boil-off gas.
The agreement has been hailed as a significant milestone in the cooperation between MOL and TMFGS, with developments in both conventional fuels and LNG ahead of 2020 IMO sulphur regulations. Beyond their historic commercial relationship, the two companies have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to combine their expertise in the development of marine LNG infrastructure and serve MOL’s future LNG needs.
TMFGS md Olivier Jouny said: “We are very proud to partner with MOL for our first LNG bunker vessel. Their track record in LNG shipping already includes major achievements with Total. Combined with our strong historical activity in the bunker industry and our global footprint in LNG, this pioneer agreement offers a major contribution to the development of LNG as a marine fuel and illustrates Total’s strong commitment towards the use of this new fuel.”
MOL senior managing executive officer, of Energy Transport Business Unit Takeshi Hashimoto said: “We are delighted to be selected as a partner of Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions for their first LNG bunker vessel. This is a key milestone for MOL and also a stepping stone to further enhancement of the two companies’ relationship not only in conventional fuels but also LNG as a marine fuel. We are confident that our joint technical and operational expertise will contribute positively to this new business development.”
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