Titan buys two small-scale LNG carriers for bunkering retrofit

Low and zero-emission fuels supplier Titan has acquired two small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Canadian gas transportation company Seapeak for bunkering retrofit.

Titan plans to retrofit the vessels – Seapeak Unikum and Seapeak Vision – to ensure suitable LNG bunkering capabilities, enabling them to both transport and bunker LNG, liquefied biomethane (LBM) and, in the long term, hydrogen-derived e-methane (e-LNG).

The acquired vessels have a cargo capacity of 12,000 cubic metres (cbm) each and are 152 metres long and 19.8 metres wide.

The two ships will join Titan’s fleet in March this year and operate in the Mediterranean and Northwestern Europe, catering for increased demand for LNG and LBM in these regions.

The company’s fleet includes a mix of owned and chartered vessels as well as a newbuild program consisting of Titan Krios and Titan Hyperion designs.

Douwe de Jong, fleet development director at Titan, commented: “Retrofitting these ships so that they can trade and bunker LNG, LBM, and in the longer-term hydrogen derived e-methane, offers Titan even more flexibility in its clean fuel operations. The team is currently specifying the upgrades and finding a suitable shipyard for the retrofit work.”

Niels den Nijs, owner and CEO of Titan, added: “A solid double-digit EBITDA in 2022 has allowed us to make this additional investment in our fleet. This decision aligns with Titan’s ambitious growth strategy in Europe and the Mediterranean. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners, like Sole Shipping Group, to expand our fleet to support our LNG and LBM distribution targets and serve our customer’s long-term demand.”

The acquisition follows the recent news from Robert Habeck, vice chancellor of Germany and a member of the German green party, that Germany granted a total of €62 million to a partnership of three companies, including Titan, for the construction of the Titan Krios new build LNG bunker vessels.