Hamburg-based LNG supplier, Bomin Linde LNG on Tuesday said it has signed a time-charter contract with Bernhard Shulte for the 7,500-cbm LNG bunkering vessel.
Under the contract, signed at the end of September, the vessel is chartered by a joint venture, established in November 2015 by Bomin Linde and Klaipedos Nafta, the owner and operator of the Lithuanian LNG terminal in Klaipeda.
Commissioning of the vessel is scheduled for late 2018, Bomin Linde said.
The company will use the LNG bunker vessel to supply marine customers and small-scale LNG terminals along the Baltic Sea coast. For Klaipedos Nafta, the vessel secures a flexible LNG transport service to their onshore LNG reloading station.
Mahinde Abeynaike , chief executive officer of Bomin Linde LNG, said, “the share of LNG as a marine fuel will grow significantly in the Baltic Sea over the next few years,” adding that for the first time ship owners and operators will have access to a complete supply chain in the Baltic Sea region.
The Linde Group, the parent company of Bomin Linde LNG already operates the LNG terminal in Nynashamn and the smaller LNG bunker supply vessel Seagas in Stockholm.
Earlier this month, SGD Logistika, the unit of Klaipedos Nafta, amended its joint venture agreement with Bomin Linde LNG .
Following the conclusion of the charter deal, The Linde Group acquired the shares of Bomin Linde LNG held by previous co-owner Marquard & Bahls.