12,000 cbm Brassavola concludes first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation
12,000 cbm Brassavola concludes first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation - Offshore Energy
12,000 cbm Brassavola concludes first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation
Singapore’s newly built LNG bunker vessel Brassavola has completed its first ship-to-ship (STS) LNG bunkering operation.
Pavilion Energy, charterer of the LNG bunker vessel, announced the milestone on February 19, 2024.
In its maiden STS LNG bunkering operation, Brassavola delivered LNG to Rio Tinto chartered dual-fueled bulk carrier Mount Api.
Commenting on this milestone, Malcolm Lim, Division Head of Singapore Hub, said: “The steady developments of our LNG bunkering solutions from truck operations to our Ship-to-Ship LNG bunkering activities today is a testament of the strong operational expertise of our team.
“Brassavola will play a key role in our efforts to promote environmental stewardship. Already, we are seeing a healthy demand from customers to deploy the vessel, signalling the significance and continued viability of LNG as a transition marine fuel. We value the trust that Rio Tinto has placed in us on Brassavola’s maiden LNG bunkering operation to support their decarbonisation ambitions.”
The 12,000 cubic meter Brassavola, said to be the largest LNG bunker vessel for use in service in the Port of Singapore, was built by Seatrium. It boasts 116.5 meters in length, 22 meters in width, and a loading and bunkering rate of 2,000 cubic meters per hour.
The vessel was recently delivered to its owner Indah Singa Maritime, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.