Pavilion Energy, CNOOC Complete First Bunker Delivery to LNG-powered VLCC

Singapore's Pavilion Energy and China's CNOOC Gas and Power Group completed their first liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship-to-ship bunker operation for a very large crude carrier (VLCC) at China's Guangzhou port, the companies said on Thursday.

A total of 2,800 metric tons of LNG was delivered from CNOOC's LNG bunker vessel Hai Yang Shi You 301 to the VLCC Maran Dione, owned by Angelicoussis Group's Maran Tankers Management (MTM), the companies said in a joint statement.

The bunker operation came after Pavilion Energy, CNOOC, and Finland's Gasum signed an agreement last year to collaborate on a global network for supplying LNG as fuel for ships.

It marked Pavilion Energy's first milestone in supplying LNG bunkering solutions overseas, as well as CNOOC's first delivery to an LNG-powered VLCC at an anchorage in Chinese waters, according to the companies.

The LNG-powered VLCC is also Maran Tankers' newest addition to its dual-fuel VLCC fleet and can cut carbon dioxide emissions by 50% compared to an equivalent 2008-built VLCC.   

MTM currently has eight more dual-fuel suezmaxes on order, in addition to the four dual-fuel VLCCs that it took delivery of this year, said Mark Pearson, managing director of Maran Tankers. 

Meanwhile, CNOOC is expediting the development of an LNG bunker fleet and has plans to further expand its bunker network along China's coastal regions, according to the joint statement. 

(Reuters - Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)