Athens: Royal Dutch Shell is to begin supplying vessels chartered by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) with LNG marine fuel from a temporary bunkering station at Teesport, UK.
The temporary station will mean SABIC’s LNG-fuelled vessels will no longer need to go to Zeebrugge to refuel.
SABIC is in the process of completing construction of its own permanent jetty at Teesport, which is expected in the final quarter this year.
Shell completed its first UK LNG bunkering operations in May, when it bunkered the liquid ethylene gas (LEG) carriers Coral Star and Coral Sticho (both 4,700 cbm, built 2014), which SABIC has chartered from Anthony Veder. The two ships operate between Teesport and ports on the European continent.
“The establishment of the LNG bunkering solution enables us to run the LEG carriers fully on LNG and supports us in meeting our targets on emission reduction,” said Paul Ruigt, category manager for shipping & barging at SABIC Supply Chain Chemicals Europe.
“The bunkering solution is part of a bigger project to realise a breakthrough in the application of LNG for short-sea shipping by starting and developing a dedicated LNG demand and supply chain in the United Kingdom. This pioneering project is co-financed by the European Union.”
