Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine has been awarded a contract by for the design and construction of a 12,000 cu.m LNG bunker vessel slated for delivery in early 2021.
To be built at its Tuas Boulevard Shipyard for a subsidiary of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), the vessel will operate on a long-term charter contract to Pavilion Gas Pte Ltd, which has signed an agreement with Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions to share utilization of the vessel
Pavilion Gas is a subsidiary of Pavilion Energy which is owned by Singapore’s state-owned investment company Temasek.
The 112 m long and 22 m wide LNG vessel will have two GTT Mark III Flex membrane tanks with a combined 12,000 cu.m capacity, making it the largest vessel of its kind to be built in Asia.
Sembcorp Marine will fabricate the vessel’s membrane tanks under a licensing agreement with French LNG containment specialist GTT. The Mark III Flex tanks have a lower internal pressure, temperature and boil-off rate than IMO Type “C” LNG tanks, which translates into greater tank durability, safer fuel transfer operations and reduced cargo loss through evaporation. They also weigh less and occupy less ship space, allowing the vessel to carry more cargo and consume less fuel during transportation.
The ship will have dual-fuel engines running on LNG or marine diesel oil with main propulsion being by two azimuth thrusters. Speed will be 11.5 knots.
The ship will be managed by Singapore bunker barge operator, Sinanju Tankers Pte. Ltd., which last April signed a contract with Kepell Offshore & Marine for construction of Singapore’s first LNG bunkering vessel (see earlier story).
