The 18,600 cubic metre-capacity vessel, which will be based in the Port of Marseille-Fos, France, was constructed by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and is due to enter operation in Q4 2021.
The new vessel is TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ second collaboration with shipowner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. TotalEnergies Marine Fuels and MOL signed a long-term charter contract in November 2019 and construction of the LNG bunker barge began in April 2020.
Sea trials were conducted off Shanghai in June, and gas trials were completed earlier this month.
The barge will be operated by V-Ships France, under the French flag and initial contracts will be to bunker CMA CGM’s LNG-fuelled containerships and MSC Cruises’ upcoming LNG-powered cruise ships that call at the French port.
Leveraging the design of TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ first chartered LNG bunker vessel – Gas Agility – the new vessel will incorporate feature equipment which will boost its bunkering efficiency and flexibility to supply LNG to a wide range of vessels across various segments and sizes. These improved features include an additional bow thruster, upgraded cargo pumps and high duty compressors, as well as a pressure reduction system to optimise bunkering operations of ‘Type C’ tank vessels under all conditions.
‘We are excited to be at the forefront of making LNG bunkering capabilities readily available in France and the Mediterranean region,’ said Jérôme Leprince-Ringuet, Vice-President Marine Fuels at TotalEnergies.
‘With shipping’s accelerating transition to this cleaner marine fuel, we look forward to providing our customers with another major European hub for their LNG bunkering needs.’
Kenta Matsuzaka, Senior Managing Executive Officer of MOL, commented: ‘It is my great pleasure and honour to witness this important milestone of the project. MOL will support TotalEnergies in a long term throughout the LNG supply chain, contributing to stable energy supply and decarbonisation of the shipping industry. We are proud of being part of the ongoing energy transition of the shipping industry by enabling our customer to supply cleaner marine fuel.’
By the end of 2021, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels will charter two LNG bunkering vessels in Rotterdam and Marseille and share the use of a third bunker vessel in Singapore.
In February 2021, the Singapore entity of TotalEnergies Marine Fuels also received a licence from the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to supply LNG in the Port of Singapore from 2022.
