Skangas Delivers Milestone Fuel Change
Skangas said its vessel Coralius has for the first time both cooled down tanks and delivered liquefied natural gas (LNG) in one operation. The receiving vessel LEG/C Navigator Aurora was supplied with just under 500 mt LNG in the middle of a voyage between Sweden and South Europe over October 7 and 8, 2017.
Going from using diesel oil to LNG requires time consuming but necessary process of cooling down operation of the receiving ship’s fuel gas tanks from ambient conditions to minus 160 degrees. The Navigator Aurora’s design allows her to pre-cool her fuel gas tanks before LNG spray is introduced, reducing the cooling down period considerably. All in all, this first bunker operation took less than 24 hours with the transfer of the main parcel taking 6 hours.
Bunkering of Navigator Aurora differed from previous bunkering operations since it included the cool down operation. Skangas called the operation is a milestone for the industry and said it proves that with careful planning and teamwork, this type of operation where LNG bunkers is supplied to vessels whilst transiting between ports, is not only efficient but also very safe. In addition, this was Coralius’ largest bunkering to date.
“The Navigator Aurora is the world’s largest type-c ethane/ethylene carrier and we just proved our ability to serve yet another shipping segment. We experience an increased interest from diversified ship owners to take LNG bunker directly from a bunker vessel,” says Gunnar Helmen, Sales Manager Marine in Skangas. “Due to this operation together with the team on Navigator Aurora we also gained a lot of valuable experience.”
"The LNG cooling and bunker operation is a first for us and we spent lots of time in the planning and execution with all stakeholders to get it right. We are very happy with the result and hope to be able to use the experiences we have gained to support the industry also going forward,” said Tommy Hjälmås, Director of Newbuilds and Special Projects at Navigator Gas.
