Avance Rigel, Avance Gas’ third newbuild very large gas carrier (VLGC), has completed gas trials outside Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) yard in South Korea.
The trials took place in January 2023 prior to the vessel’s delivery which is scheduled for early February 2023.
The Avance Rigel is a 91,000 cbm dual-fuel VLGC capable of running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Its propulsion technology is said to provide a reduction in the carbon footprint of about 40% compared to traditional VLGCs.
In addition to being able to run on LPG, the vessels are intended to be prepared for ammonia as fuel as Avance Gas looks to position itself for a zero-carbon fuel solution as soon as the technology is ready and feasible.
This is the third unit in a series of six VLGC newbuilds being constructed by the South Korean shipyard for Avance Gas.
The fourth VLGC Avance Avior was launched on 13 December 2022 and is set to be delivered soon with its sister vessel Avance Rigel
As announced earlier, Avance Gas secured financing for the two vessels. In May 2022, the company signed a $555 million sustainability-linked term facility with a bank syndicate. The facility is a refinancing of the previous bank facility financing the nine VLGCs including financing of the newbuilds Avance Rigel and Avance Avior.
Video source: Avance Gas