Lng World News

Excelerate Energy and Maran Gas Maritime have signed a five-year bareboat charter agreement (BBC) for the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) hull 2477.During the five-year BBC Excelerate will have the option to purchase Hull 2477. MGM is currently building Hull 2477 at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard and is scheduled for delivery in April 2020, when the BBC will start.The vessel will have a storage capacity of 173,400 m3 and will be capable of operating as both an FSRU and a fully tradable LNG carrier.Hull 2477 will join Excelerate's existing fleet of nine FSRUs, all built by DSME, and will serve Excelerate's portfolio of regasification customers.

DNV GL’s new LNG intelligence portal (LNGi) aims to bring stakeholders from across the LNG industry together to share market intelligence and contribute to the uptake of LNG as a ship fuel. Leading LNG suppliers and engine manufacturers including, Shell, the Marine division of Rolls-Royce and MAN will be some of the first companies to use LNGi. The portal, which was launched today, allows subscribers to assess the availability of LNG fuel for specific trade routes and newbuild projects. It also provides information about current market developments, as well as status updates of other alternative fuels and emissions reduction technologies across every vessel segment.

Press release - Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) highlighted the issues and solutions surrounding LNG as a marine fuel at its industry forum, LNG as a Marine Fuel: Addressing the Challenges. Attended by close to 100 delegates from the ship owning, equipment manufacturing, brokering and media segments of the industry, the session was held in conjunction with London International Shipping Week 2015, which opened this Monday. Chaired by Chris Clucas, Corporate Expert - Liquefied Gas for BSM and the President of the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF)…

This being the “Yearbook” edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, it would be remiss to not have coverage of LNG, one of the hottest fueling trends in maritime circles, particularly in North America. For a unique insight on a rapidly evolving market, MR caught up with Edward Scott, COO, Excelerate Energy, which is making big strides in the LNG Regasification sector, and recently received on the of the world’s largest and most capable units, the FSRU Experience which he touts as the world’s largest and most capable FSRU.

Cameron LNG, one of the most advanced US LNG export projects, (promoted by GDF SUEZ as a shareholder and a capacity holder), has been granted conditional non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) approval from the US Department of Energy (DOE). The Non-FTA agreement will enable GDF SUEZ to export LNG from the Cameron LNG project, in Louisiana, into countries that have not signed a FTA with the USA. GDF Suez inform that the project received  FTA approval in January 2012. The Non-FTA approval will enable them to sell the LNG produced by the Cameron plant, to a much wider range of partners around the world.

According to 'LNG World News' the ships will be built on a joint class of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) and Lloyd’s Register (LR) by order of Sovcomflot for Gazprom Global LNG, acting as charterer. RS will act as the leading classification society. The ships are membrane-type LNG carriers with a capacity of 170,000 cubic meters of liquefied gas and will be equipped with a three-fuel diesel-electric propulsion plant, allowing to use LNG as fuel. The use of gas as fuel will significantly reduce emissions of NOx and SOx, which is a necessary requirement for modern ships within the tightening of international air emissions standards.

As part of the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard, N-KOM has successfully completed marine, offshore and onshore projects for both local and international clients, with LNG repairs making up almost half of these projects reports LNG World News. The seven LNG carriers (Al Jasra, Al Bidda, Al Wajbah, Dukhan, Al Gharrafa , Al Rayyan and Al Thumama) are undergoing drydocking repairs, including the overhauling of the main engine, valves, pumps and other general repairs and maintenance. Most of these vessels are jointly owned by a consortium of Japanese shipping companies: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line (NYK), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (“K” Line), with Al Gharrafa being technically managed by OSG Shipmanagement (UK) Ltd.

Ongoing simulation model development focuses on vessel efficiency. Kongsberg Maritime has released a sophisticated Engine Room Simulator (ERS) model based on a Dual Fuel Diesel Electric (DFDE) Engine Room configuration from a modern liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. The new DFDE model will offer the most sophisticated simulator training for LNG engineers available today. DFDE driven vessels are becoming more and more common and the new engine room simulator model from Kongsberg…