Energy firm TotalEnergies is expanding its global presence in bunkering hubs, having today (10th Oct) signed a charter contract with shipowner Ibaizabal for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker vessel.
Under terms of the contract, TotalEnergies will supply the Spanish business with a vessel with a capacity of 18,600m3. The vessel will supply LNG to containerships, tanks, cruise ships, and ferries at TotalEnergies’ bunkering hubs.
The vessel is currently being constructed by Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China and will be delivered by the end of 2026. It will expand TotalEnergies current fleet of three deployed LNG bunker vessels.
Louise Tricoire, Senior Vice-President of Aviation and Marine Fuels at TotalEnergies, said, “With new LNG-fuelled vessels coming on stream at a rapid pace, we are committed to playing our part in responding to the sector’s increasing demand for this fuel, which can help global shipping meet its decarbonisation ambitions.”
It is thought that the vessel could be deployed in Oman, where TotalEnergies is currently developing its Marsa LNG project. Once operational, the plant will be 100% electrically driven, supplied with solar power, making it one of the lowest-emitting LNG plants.
Read more: TotalEnergies greenlights large-scale Marsa LNG project in Oman
The plant will have a greenhouse gas intensity below 3 kg CO2e/boe. For comparison, the average emission intensity of an LNG plant today is around 35kg CO2e/boe.
Expected to be operational by Q1 2028, the project features a liquefaction plant with a capacity of one million tonnes per annum located in the port of Sohar.
LNG as a marine fuel
LNG-fuelled ships can achieve up to 28% lower greenhouse gas emissions on a tank-to-wake basis compared to vessels using traditional marine bunker fuel, according to SEA-LNG, a multi-sector industry coalition.
When it comes to cutting the shipping industry’s emissions, LNG has often been recognised as shipping’s fuel of the future. LNG emits 25% less CO2 than other common marine fuels for the same propulsion power, in addition to lower nitrous oxide, sulphur oxide, and particulate emissions.
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