Shell-chartered LNG London ticks off bunkering milestone

Belgian inland transportation specialist, Victrol, said LNG London completed its first ship-to-ship bunkering to a cruise vessel in the port of Rotterdam.

In a brief social media statement, Victrol said the operation was completed on October 1.

It was a new milestone for LNG Shipping and LNG London, Europe’s first inland-waterway liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker vessel. It has been operational for more than a year now and has performed more than 200 bunkering operations.

The LNG London is owned by LNG Shipping, a cooperation between Victrol and Sogestran. It is on long-term charter to Shell, which will primarily deploy the LNG bunkering vessel in the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp.

The vessel is loaded with LNG at the Gate terminal in Rotterdam. Its transfer system enables delivery of LNG to seagoing vessels, inland barges and terminals onshore, while a restricted air draft allows the barge to sail via inland waterways to Antwerp and Amsterdam, if required.

The LNG bunkering vessel is 110 meters long and 15 meters wide, with a cargo capacity of 3,000 cubic meters of LNG.