VIDEO: Viking Grace receives 1,000th LNG bunkering

AUGUST 25, 2016 — Swedish company AGA Gas AB recently performed its one thousandth bunkering of Viking Grace, the largest passenger ferry thus far to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel.

Delivered in 2013, the Viking Grace has now been in service for three and a half years operating a regular schedule in the Baltic Sea between Turku in Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. It is designed to carry cars, trucks and road trailers, as well as 2,800 passengers and 200 crew members.

The 1,000th LNG bunkering was performed by the bunkering vessel M/S Seagas, which was specially built for ship-to-ship refueling with LNG and is classified according to the same regulations as for ocean-going LNG tankers. .

The Seagas supplies the Viking Grace with about 60 tonnes of LNG while the vessel is docked in the morning at Stadsgården in central Stockholm, enabling AGA to meet Viking Line’s requirement for bunkering to occur as quickly as possible, with no interruptions, with assured deliveries and without affecting cargo handling on the quay.

“We are really pleased about having used LNG to fuel the M/S Viking Grace”, says Jan Hanses, President and CEO of Viking Line Abp. “Both the technical solution developed by AGA and the vessel’s operation have outperformed expectations, and it is gratifying to note the major benefits for the workplace along with the environmental gains that running on LNG provides.”

“We are obviously delighted with the positive response we have had from Viking Line regarding the Seagas and our bunkering solution”, says Jonas Åkermark, who is in charge of the LNG marine market at AGA Gas AB. “There is still heavy interest in the Seagas, our ship-to-ship bunkering solution and LNG as a marine fuel both in Sweden and internationally. We have a well-functioning infrastructure solution in place in Stockholm and the possibility of bunkering more vessels.”

The video, in Swedish, has some nice footage of the bunkering procedure.