Containerships has carried out its first ship-to-ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operation at lay bay berth at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
During bunkering, Containerships’ first LNG-powered container vessel, Containerships Nord, received around 240t of fuel from Shell’s bunker vessel, Cardissa.
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The amount of LNG bunkered to Containerships Nord is sufficient enough to enable the vessel to complete two round trips from Rotterdam to St Petersburg in Russia via the Kiel canal.
The latest operation follows detailed hazard identification and safety evaluations. All vessel crew completed the necessary LNG bunkering specific training.
Containerships said that in future it intends to perform the bunkering at a normal operational berth simultaneously with loading and discharging activities.
The planned operation is set to bring no disadvantages in the operative efficiency of the vessel.
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By GlobalDataShell Global Downstream LNG general manager Tahir Faruqui said: “LNG bunkering is a very safe operation and we look forward to conducting simultaneous operations with Containerships in the future.”
Last month, Containerships Nord began its journey from China and reached the European waters through the Suez Canal after sailing for two and half weeks.
Containerships are expected to receive two sister vessels of Containerships Nord later this year.
The sister ships will be designed to have an endurance of 14 days with LNG and will be bunkered once per roundtrip during their regular service between the company’s core ports in the North and Baltic Seas.
As part of an existing deal, Shell will supply fuel for all the LNG ships operated by Containerships via ship-to-ship bunkering at the Port of Rotterdam.
