Shipowner to add first LNG bunker barge

Market: Emissions, Natural gas, Oil products
11/02/22

Shipowner Centerline Logistics has signed an agreement with marine engineering firm Vard Marine to build a 6,000m³ LNG bunker barge.

The barge is the first in its fleet and it is being added to address the rising demand in LNG as a marine fuel in the US.

"As more shipping companies are targeting a goal of net-zero emissions, LNG is going to play a critical role in providing a feasible pathway to that target," said Ravi Sekhon, Centerline's director of engineering and sustainability.

The LNG barge will have a fuel capacity around 100 m³ and is expected to begin service in 2024.

Demand for LNG as a bunker fuel has risen substantially as shipowners look to cut emissions in the short term while waiting for alternative fuels, like hydrogen and ammonia, to be developed in the future.

The US Gulf LNG monthly average was assessed at a $549/t premium to Houston very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) in January 2022. But that is a 48pc decline from the previous month's premium at $1,049/t because US Gulf LNG and Houston VLSFO prices diverged.

LNG demand has also jumped up in Europe. LNG bunker sales in Rotterdam, Europe's biggest bunkering hub and the second largest in the world, rose by 187pc to about 600,000 in 2021.

By Luis Gronda

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