‘Australian first’ for LNG bunkering

In what it calls an ‘Australian first’, EVOL will supply LNG-fuelled ships calling at the leading Western Australia port at a rate of up to 45 tonnes an hour at a “competitive” price, when compared with low-sulphur marine diesel.

The company said in a statement: “The availability of LNG as a bunker fuel at the Port of Fremantle, which will be delivered from our Kwinana LNG plant, paves the way for LNG-fuelled ships to visit the port, as well as for local ferries and workboats to switch to this lower cost, lower emission fuel.”

EVOL LNG’s business manager, Nick Rea, said: “Our decision to provide LNG bunkering to the shipping industry is based on a long-term strategy,” Mr Rea said.

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen the number of LNG-fuelled ships in operation worldwide increase steadily from a handful to more than 70, with an additional 80 to be built in coming years.”

Mr Rea said that growth had largely been driven by the introduction of emission regulations, such as Emission Control Areas in Europe and North America, and the expectation of better returns rather than using low-sulphur fuels or installing exhaust scrubber systems.

He said that if interest is there, EVOL LNG will obtain licenses from other major Australian and regional WA ports to conduct LNG bunkering operations.

Back in April, Woodside announced that it had signed a five-year charter contract with Norwegian company Siem Offshore Australia Pty Ltd to deliver Australia’s first LNG-powered marine support vessel in 2017.