The LNG bunker supply vessel »Kairos« has been delivered from the shipyard in South Korea to its main area of[ds_preview] operation in Northwest Europe. At an LNG capacity of 7,500 m³, the ship is expected to be operational before the end of the year.
The vessel was ordered by Babcock Schulte Energy (BSE), a 50:50 joint venture between Babcock and Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM). The first cut of steel for the Gas Supply Vessel (GSV) was completed in November 2017 at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea. The ship is time chartered to Nauticor and will service a number of clients in the Baltic region including the Linde/AGA terminal in Nynäshamn and the Klaip da LNG fuelling station in Lithuania.
Capable of performing both ship-to-ship bunkering and transhipment operations, she will be used for the LNG fuelling of ships including ferries, containers, cruise vessels and other shore-based gas consumers.
Equipped with Babcock’s Fuel Gas Supply Vessel Zero (FGSV0) technology – a scalable cargo handling and fuelling solution complete with compressed natural gas storage and utilisation capabilities – »Kairos« will eliminate the release of boil-off and flash gas to the atmosphere during normal operations providing an environmentally responsible shipping alternative, the owner says. A novel Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) system is used to store vaporising gas from the bunkering vessel and the returned boil-off gas from the LNG-fuelled vessel. It is compressed up to 220 bar(g), stored in two sets of 40’ containers and used for propulsion fuel and electric.
Furthermore, the new GSV circumvents the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention as it only has a little quantity of fresh water on board which is only used for trim purposes and does not leave the ship.
Nauticor has set up a new joint venture called Blue LNG to charter the vessel. Nauticor holds 90% of Blue LNG, partner Klaipedos Nafta holds the remaining 10%. Mahinde Abeynaike, CEO of Nauticor, emphasizes the crucial role of the LNG bunker ship for LNG supply: »The arrival of ›Kairos‹ in the Baltic Sea will set a milestone for LNG as marine fuel. From now on, the supply of LNG as marine fuel to the Baltic Sea is largely assured. This is a major step towards sustainable and responsible shipping with a major impact on air and water quality.«
Felix Selzer
