Damen Shipyards Group has signed a contract with the parent company of Eesti Gaas for the construction of the first of a series of short-sea LNG bunker vessels to operate in the Baltic Sea.
The LGC 6000 LNG class vessel, scheduled for delivery in September 2020, is designed to accelerate the wider adoption of LNG as a cleaner alternative fuel in the northeast Baltic Sea by providing a mobile and efficient ship-to-ship distribution service for the first time.
The 100-meter vessel will be built at Damen Yichang Shipyard in China and will carry 6,000m³ of LNG in two type-C tanks at minus 163 degrees Celcius.
Currently, Eesti Gaas is refueling the LNG-fueled RoPax vessel Megastar by truck, with 11 required for a single operation. The LGC 6000 LNG will be able to resupply the ferry in a single, efficient and much faster procedure while she is alongside her regular berth, loading and unloading passengers and vehicles. Ports also will be spared the additional traffic generated by moving LNG by road.
The LGC 6000 LNG also is designed to meet the requirements of ICE Class 1A certification and to achieve green ship notation. A dual fuel propulsion system will be used for the management of the boil-off gas in combination with a gas burner.
Eesti Gaas will operate the LNG bunker vessel under a long-term charter from its parent company, Infortar AS, which will be the owner of the vessel.
Since 2016, Eesti Gaas has expanded its LNG transport and bunkering capacity by entering long-term LNG supply contracts with shipping companies and industrial consumers.
“This new vessel will help us to move significantly closer towards a clean and pollution-free Baltic Sea,” Ain Hanschmidt, chairman of the supervisory board of Eesti Gaas, said in a statement. “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.”