MARKETS • LNG
SCF concept for aframax tanker
to half of its aframax fleet and other petroleum assets, including VLCCs, would also adopt the LNG dual fuel option in the near-term future.
‘We have complete confidence that LNG will play a significant part in the marine fuels mix in the coming years, and we have been reviewing the feasibility of developing a dual fuel LNG fleet since 2015,’ said Yee Yang Chien, chairman of AET and ceo of its parent MISC.
LNG as fuel gains traction
Marcus Hand reports on a shift towards use of LNG to power ships with dual-fuel tanker orders.
Liquefied Natural Gas as marine fuel was the hot topic a few years ago and it was hard to attend a presentation by classification society without being regaled with bullish forecasts on how many LNG- powered vessels would sailing the world’s oceans a few years later.
Then the oil price crashed and most admitted, at least quietly they had got a bit wrong LNG, but with the IMO deciding to enforce a worldwide 0.5% global sulphur cap for bunker fuel from 2020 and the continued push towards clean energy, natural gas to power ships is very much back on the agenda.
The 0.5% sulphur cap essentially gives owners three choices in how to comply: burning low sulphur fuels such as gas oil, installing scrubbers, or switching to an alternative fuel.
Recent months have seen a slew of significant announcements in terms of shifting to using LNG as marine fuel, and while some of these were related to the bi-annual Gastech bunfight held in Japan in early April, a real shift would appear to be taking place both in terms of ships and infrastructure.
Until the late 2016 the focus in terms of the switch to LNG-fuelled vessels
was the preserve of a few niche sectors such as ferries, cruise ships and harbour craft, along with a few ‘LNG- ready’ containerships with the capacity dual-fuelled at some point following a conversion process.
What is now being seen is major oceangoing shipowners, particularly in the tanker sector, laying out plans to switch to LNG.
Russian owner Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has ordered four 114,000dwt ice-class aframax dual-fuelled tankers and inked a bunkering agreement with Shell which will see the vessels refueling with LNG in Rotterdam and a port in the Baltics.
‘Aframax is one of the key size categories for tankers employed in transportation of liquid hydrocarbons. These are ships that are most in demand to cater for Russian oil exports. Sovcomflot and Shell are initiating the conversion of this segment of large- capacity tankers to gas engine fuel,’ said Sergey Frank, president and ceo of SCF Group.
Meanwhile, Malaysian
shipowner AET, the tanker arm of MISC, has said it expects that up
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At the design phase Greek shipowners are also getting on the act for natural gas powered vessels. Consolidated Marine Management (CMM) is providing the operator’s input in a joint industry project to develop a new LPG-fuelled carrier design – LPGreen with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Wartsila Oil and Gas and DNV GL.
While in the bulk carrier sector Angelicoussis Group's Anangel Maritime Services, Woodside Energy, HHI, GE and Lloyd’s Register on a design for LNG-fuelled LNG carrier.
The LNG-fuelled revolution has been slower to happen than expected but with the 0.5% sulphur cap coming into force in just three years’ time engines that produce 90% less SOx, 80% less NOx and 15% less CO2 are becoming a real and attractive option for deepsea shipping. A switch by a significant portion of shipping to LNG for fuel would be a major new demand driver for natural gas on top of that for clean energy onshore.
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Seatrade Maritime Review • Quarterly Issue 2 • June 2017
SOURCE: BANCOSTA
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