Bomin Linde charters 7,500 cu. m LNG bunkering vessel

Highly maneuverable vessel will have DP2 capability

OCTOBER 11, 2016 — Hamburg, Germany, based Linde Group member Bomin Linde LNG has signed a time charter for a 7,500 cu.m LNG bunker supply vessel with shipowner Bernhard Schulte.

The vessel is being chartered to a joint venture in which Bomin Linde LNG holds 90 percent with the remaining 10 percent held by Klaipėdos Nafta, the owner and operator of the Klaipeda, Lithuania, LNG import terminal. Commissioning of the vessel is scheduled for late 2018.

The vessel will be highly maneuverable with a propulsion and steering system that includes azimuth thrusters and pump jets will be highly maneuverable. Offshore bunkering will be possible using DP2 technology.

Frequency-driven pumps with high flow rates will allow for fast LNG transfer to client vessels with short-term layovers at port.

Bomin Linde LNG will be using the LNG bunker supply vessel to supply marine customers and small-scale LNG terminals along the Baltic Sea coast. For Klaipėdos Nafta, the vessel will provide a flexible LNG transport service to its onshore LNG reloading station.

“The share of LNG as a marine fuel will grow significantly in the Baltic Sea over the next few years,” says Bomin Linde LNG CEO Mahinde Abeynaike. “We intend to be at the front, leading the development. Signing this contract is an important milestone for Bomin Linde LNG and a big step forward for the maritime LNG market in the Baltic Sea region. For the first time shipowners and operators will have access to a complete LNG supply chain in the Baltic Sea region. The new vessel will secure LNG supply at an attractive price level, which is crucial for shipowners and charterers of LNG-powered vessels.”