The Damen Shipyards Group has been entrusted with the construction of a brand-new bunkering vessel with which Eesti Gaas will marine-supply its clients with liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The ice class 1A, 100m-long LGC 6000 LNG class vessel will be built at the Damen Yichang Shipyard in China and will carry up to 6.0k m3 of LNG in two type-C tanks. The vessel itself will have dual-fuel propulsion, combined with a gas burner for the management of boil-off gas.
Once delivered, Eesti Gaas will operate the LNG bunker vessel under a long-term charter on behalf of its parent company Infortar AS, which will be the owner of the vessel.
Tallink's cruise ferry Megastar is already one of Eesti Gaas' LNG clients. According to the company, it takes today 11 trucks to carry out one bunkering. The LGC 6000 LNG, in turn, will be able to resupply the ferry in a single operation.
"This new vessel will help us to move significantly closer towards a clean and pollution-free Baltic Sea. With the introduction of the first LGC 6000 LNG scheduled for 2020, vessel operators in the region can now consider adopting LNG propulsion systems in their new and existing vessels, confident that they can access fast and efficient bunkering services. We look forward to it serving an increasing number of vessels using LNG as a marine fuel and thus reducing significantly their CO2, NOX, SOX and particulate matter emissions," Ain Hanschmidt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Eesti Gaas, commented.
Peter Anssems, Sales Manager for East Europe, Damen, added, "We at Damen Shipyards are honored with the faith that Eesti Gaas has put in our company by purchasing this LNG bunkering vessel built at our shipyard. This will be the first LNG bunkering vessel built by Damen Shipyards Gorinchem B.V. We will ensure that this state-of-the-art ship will be designed and built to the highest standards and that it will contribute to the success of Eesti Gaas, Infortar AS and the Baltic region as a whole."
Photo: Damen