Skangass has taken yet another important step into the marine market after winning the contract to supply LNG to Fjord Line. Two new cruise ferries are to be supplied with a total of 30,000 tonnes of LNG per year. The contract will also have positive indirect effects for Risavika Harbour.
With the growing potential that lies in the marine market, it has been natural to focus on the direct bunkering of ships which dock in Risavika Harbour.
“ Through this contract, Risavika Harbour will become Europe’s first port where ships can bunker directly, and unload and load at the same place , ” says David Ottesen, CEO of Risavika Harbour.
The cruise ferries represent a completely new era for the ferry traffic between Norway and the EU with regard to size, environment and comfort. With the new bunkering facility in place, more ships will also be able to bunker from the same place.
Last summer, Fjord Line decided to use LNG as a fuel for the two new cruise ferries that are being built by Bergen Group Fosen. “ Skangass and Risavika Harbour have worked intensively to offer good solutions for the new ferries. It has been a very exciting process, with both technical and commercial challenges, ” says Gunnar Helmen, Sales Manager at Skangass.
Today, Skangass has a number of concepts for supplying fuel to ships. “ We have customers which bunker directly from the factory and we have deliveries via road tanker, to the offshore supply fleet for example. The contract with Fjord Line enables us to consider a third bunkering facility via a dedicated bunkering arm, which will be built in the harbour. This solution will considerably improve the service provided to ships which need to be refuelled with large amounts of LNG during a short harbour stay. The Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB) will shortly consult on the project ,” says Helmen.
Investing in “green” fuel
“ There is a clear strategy behind the choice of LNG as the fuel for our new cruise ferries. When MS “Stavangerfjord” is commissioned, it will be the first and only cruise ferry in the world to have a “single fuel LNG engine”. This means that the ship will exclusively use LNG as bunker. This is the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel available for marine use. Fjord Line will thereby satisfy the stricter new requirements concerning fuel, long before the deadline in 2015, ” says Ingvald Fardal, CEO of Fjord Line .
The cruise ferries will be introduced on the routes between Bergen, Stavanger and Hirtshals and between Hirtshals and Langesund. Bergen Group Fosen will complete the first of the new cruise ferries during the winter. The second ship will be ready to sail in September next year. Each of the cruise ferries will be capable of carrying approximately 1,500 passengers and will also have substantial capacity for vehicles and other cargo.
“ We are proud to have been preferred as the supplier of LNG to Fjord Line. A constructive and good dialogue throughout the process was decisive for the contract. It also became clear to us that the delivery reliability that we can promise through our concept would be the right one for these particular cruise ferries, precisely because Fjord Line chose engines based on single fuel LNG ,” says Gunnar Helmen. “ We will continue to develop our concepts and promise that Skangass will be there when new ships needs LNG.”
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LNG World News Staff, December 13, 2012; Image: Skangass