Norway's Bergen Tankers is to convert one of its small bunker tankers into an LNG bunker vessel (LNGBV) after winning a long-term charter from Shell-controlled Gasnor.
The 850-dwt Oslo Tank (built 2010) is to go into a Norwegian shipyard in March 2020 for the conversion job and is due to re-emerge in September next year, officials at Bergen Tankers told TradeWinds.
The vessel, which is to be renamed Bergen LNG, is to be fitted with a single type-C tank that will give it capacity to bunker around 850-cbm of LNG.
Systems supplier for the conversion Hoglund said the LNGBV will operate in Bergen harbour from fourth quarter 2020 to serve future LNG-fuelled cruiseships operated by Hurtigruten and Havila.
"The project demonstrates the growing understanding within shipping that transition to alternative fuels will require specialised, bespoke solutions – particularly when it comes to bunkering infrastructure," Hoglund said.
The retrofit of the Bergen Tankers bunker vessel boosts Shell's growing arsenal of LNGBVs and is the second time the company has opted to convert an existing ship.
Last year Anthony Veder's 7,500-cbm LNG carrier Coral Methane (built 2009) small-scale LNG carrier was modified in Poland to allow it to serve as an LNGBV.
The vessel is also on long-term charter to Gasnor.
Shell has been pioneering the development of LNG bunkering and has extended its LNGBV fleet out to at least seven units, with several more vessels under construction and new enquiries for additional tonnage floated in the market.
