Containerships’ Unit Conducts Its 1st LNG Bunkering in Rotterdam

The first of four LNG-fueled container vessels, constructed for Finnish shipping company Containerships, undertook its initial LNG bunkering at the Port of Rotterdam on January 24.

Around 240 metric tons of marine LNG was bunkered to M/S Containerships Nord, an amount that can take the vessel on a roundtrip from Rotterdam to St. Petersburg and back sailing through the Kiel canal twice, according to the company.

The first bunkering was carried out at lay bay berth in a ship-to-ship operation from Shell’s bunker vessel, Cardissa. Containerships explained that, in the future, the bunkering operation would be carried out at a normal operational berth simultaneously with loading and discharging operations. This means that there would be no disadvantages in operative efficiency compared to traditional oil burning vessels.

M/S Containerships Nord started sailing from China towards Europe in mid-December and reached the European waters after passing the Suez Canal after two and half weeks sailing. The company plans to deploy M/S Containerships Nord’s three sister vessels on the same route after their delivery later in 2019.

These vessels have an endurance of 14 days with LNG, and they will be bunkered once per roundtrip during their regular service loop between Containerships’ core ports in the North and Baltic Seas. All the newbuilds will be bunkered by Shell bunker vessels, including the Cardissa, in Rotterdam.