Viking Line Abp has signed an agreement with AGA Gas AB on supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Viking Line’s new passenger ferry.
Viking Line’s newbuilding “NB 1376”, recently named the M/S Viking Grace, will provide service on the Stockholm (Sweden) – Åland Islands (Finland) – Turku (Finland) route beginning in January 2013. The vessel, currently under construction at the STX Europe shipyard in Turku, will be Viking Line’s largest passenger ferry and will be powered by LNG. The liquefied gas will be stored in specially built tanks at the rear of the vessel and will have a temperature of about -150 degrees Celsius when it is bunkered and stored on board. LNG contains neither sulphur nor heavy metals. By using this fuel a vessel reduces its carbon dioxide emissions by 20-30 per cent compared to oil. LNG meets the emission standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) directive, which states that the sulphur content of vessel fuel may not exceed 0.1 per cent by weight starting on January 1, 2015.