Shell and Hapag-Lloyd initial customers for Singapore’s first LNG bunker tankerShell and Hapag-Lloyd initial customers for Singapore’s first LNG bunker tanker

The joint venture between Shell Eastern Trading and Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) held a virtual naming ceremony at Keppel’s offices in Singapore Thursday for the 7,500 cu m LNG bunker tanker newbuilding FueLNG Bellina in Keppel’s yard in Nantong, China.

Some 350 guests from 20 countries joined the ceremony via Zoom.

According to Chris Ong, chairman of FueLNG and ceo of Keppel O&M, the joint venture has already completed over 250 truck-to-ship LNG bunkering operations in Singapore.

The FueLNG Bellina will be able to bunker fuel at a rate of 100 – 1,000 cu m per hour and able to service vessels such as VLCC’s, ultra-large containerships and newcastlemax bulkers.

Initial customers for the new bunker tanker will be Shell and Hapag-Lloyd. Shell has chartered a total of 14 LNG-fuelled aframax tankers, while Hapag-Lloyd is currently converting to the 15,000 teu containership Sajir to be fuelled by LNG.

With the fleet of LNG tankers Shell will be one of the world’s largest commercial users of LNG as a marine fuel. Hapag-Lloyd plans to bunker the Sajir in Singapore and Rotterdam.