Belgian shipping company Exmar has taken delivery of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier (LNGC), which will be upgraded to function as a floating transshipment unit (FTU), dedicated to the LNG bunkering market .
Exmar has confirmed the delivery of the 146,000-cubic-meter (cbm) LNG carrier Simaisa , which is secured under an initial seven-year charter contract. The company explains that this vessel will soon undergo a dry-dock, including modifications to make it suitable as a floating transshipment unit for the LNG bunkering market.
According to the Belgian shipping player, the FTU will receive large parcels of LNG from trading LNG carriers, and specialized LNG bunkering vessels will load at the FTU before supplying it as a fuel to vessels that use LNG as a fuel.
Carl-Antoine Saverys , Exmar’s CEO, commented: “Exmar is gladly assisting its client in further paving the way to unlock LNG as a fuel for the shipping industry. The FTU is a smart solution with which our client bring down the costs of the logistics relating to the LNG bunkering.
“With this solution, we are building upon Exmar’s close to 50 years of LNG experience. We look forward deploying more of these assets to unlock the full potential of LNG as a fuel for the maritime industry.”
Exmar is exploring multiple decarbonization pathways for the shipping industry, as illustrated by the recent delivery of its first in a series of four newbuild dual-fuel ammonia midsize gas carriers (MGCs).