Veka-Group has developed three new liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers also capable of being used as bunker ships,. Two of the tankers will be making short sea trips and/ or providing coastal services, with the company saying the third tanker is a first of its kind LNG inland waterway bunker vessel, expected to be put into service by late 2013, the Company press release said.
According to Arend Bijlsma, managing director for the Bijlsma Shipyard, a Veka-Group member, there will be a rapid increase in the use of LNG by ships for both coastal and inland shipping and as such, there was opportunity as the demand for LNG bunker stations and tankers supplying to these stations also grows.
Bijlsma continued, "At this moment there are no small LNG tankers that can supply the LNG from the large terminals to smaller terminals or directly to ships.
"Last year a LNG ship moored for the very first time in Rotterdam and more will certainly follow. In the short term there will be a bigger market for small tankers.
"We want to be a pioneer in this field and therefore we started with the development of the LNG short sea tanker and the LNG-Oil Combi tanker."
Both of the tankers are equipped with a dual fuel engine running on approximately 25% on the 'boil off', or the gas that is released by keeping the LNG at the correct temperature, and the rest on the LNG cargo making these tankers "almost free of hazardous emissions," Bijlsma explained.
The third new ship, the LNG inland shipping bunker tanker has a 100% LNG engine and sails completely off the 'boil off', meaning that only a very limited quantity of the LNG cargo is actually required for fuel consumption.
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