Sinanju seals charter deal with ExxonMobil for Singapore’s first LNG bunker tankerSinanju seals charter deal with ExxonMobil for Singapore’s first LNG bunker tanker

The 7,990-dwt bunker tanker, to be named Marine Vicky, will be the first bunker tanker for Singapore to be powered mainly by LNG.

Marine Vicky will deliver ExxonMobil’s new EMF.5 Engineered Marine Fuels to ocean-going vessels within Singapore port limits from the first quarter of 2020.

The start of 2020 will see the implementation of IMO’s global regulation on capping sulphur content in marine fuels at 0.5%, down from 3.5%.

“As responsible stakeholders of the maritime industry, we are stepping up to promote the use of LNG as a sustainable alternative marine fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we encourage more of such bunker tankers to operate in Singapore,” said Ju Kai Meng, managing director of Sinanju.

“We will now focus on competence building through hands-on operations of this LNG-powered bunker tanker. I believe the invaluable experience garnered will serve as a strong foundation towards our preparation to embark on ship-to-ship LNG bunker deliveries from 2021,” Ju added.

Read more: Sinanju expands into LNG bunkering, to operate large LNG bunker tanker

Marine Vicky is a 103-metre long, 19-metre wide bunker tanker classed by Bureau Veritas (BV). The vessel is equipped with a 55 cu m LNG tank paired with a fuel gas supply system on deck for engine propulsion. The vessel is being built at Keppel Offshore & Marine's shipyard in Nantong, China.

The bunker tanker will join Sinanju’s 13-bunker vessel fleet in December 2019.