The RMK Marine shipyard launched the Energy Stockholm, a liquified natural gas (LNG) bunker barge, into the water. With a capacity of 8,000m3, the vessel is owned and operated by LNG Shipping (a joint venture between Victrol and Sogestran) and on a long-term time charter to Shell Western LNG B.V(Shell) for bunkering operations in the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam region.
This is the second inland waterway barge that LNG Shipping and Shell are collaborating on. The first was the 3000m3 LNG London launched in July 2019.
The Energy Stockholm is Europe’s largest inland waterway LNG bunker barge built to date, as Sogestran group claims.
The vessel has a dual-fuel propulsion, able to use cargo boil off gas. She will be the first LNG bunker barge to use battery technology and shore power, which will help reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Designed by the International Naval Engineering Consultants (INEC), the barge is constructed at the RMK Marine Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey. Gas & Heat will supply the tanks and cargo handling system.
Tahir Faruqui, Global Head of Downstream LNG at Shell, said: “We are steadily expanding our bunker assets to enable LNG’s immediate availability and accessibility in supporting shipping decarbonisation. The new barge will increase Shell’s bunkering capacity in the ARA region. She will soon join our LNG fuelling network, which is the largest in the world with 12 bunker vessels across 19 locations.”
David Patron, Market Director Oil-Chemicals-Gases at Sogestran, representing LNG Shipping, commented: “The Energy Stockholm will benefit from four years of operational experience on the LNG London and is poised to meet a range of customer demands, from ferries to large carriers. She is at the forefront of new technologies, with features that help consume less energy and reduce emissions.”
