Hong Kong hosts its first LNG bunkering with simultanous cargo handling

CLPe Holdings, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based electricity company CLP, and state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have reached a new milestone in their partnership by completing Hong Kong’s first LNG bunkering with simultaneous cargo operation.

The milestone operation was conducted on June 5 at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, where Hanoi Express, a containership owned by German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, received around 10,000 cubic meters of LNG during cargo handling.

According to CNOOC and CLPe, the operation integrated bunkering and cargo operations in a streamlined process, enabling Hanoi Express to be filled with LNG within 24 hours while loading and unloading cargo at the terminal, significantly reducing its port turnaround time and operating costs.

CNOOC deployed the 184.7-meter-long bunker vessel Haiyang Shiyou 301 to deliver LNG to the containership. Said to be the first domestically built LNG bunkering vessel in the Mainland, Haiyang Shiyou 301 is equipped with both LNG transportation and bunkering capabilities and is designed primarily to supply fuel to international maritime vessels.

Haiyang Shiyou 301 is also described as “the largest LNG bunkering and transport vessel in the world”, with a storage capacity of 30,000 cubic meters and a refueling rate of 1,650 cubic meters per hour.

In addition to marking Hong Kong’s first LNG bunkering with simultaneous cargo handling, the milestone was described as the city’s largest single LNG bunkering operation.

Furthermore, the operation was hailed as a step forward in Hong Kong’s ambition to become a high-quality green marine fuel bunkering center in line with an ‘Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering’ released by the HKSAR Government last year.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mable Chan, said the simultaneous operation would encourage the bunkering sector in Hong Kong to provide more services for vessels using LNG and other green maritime fuels, and also give international shipping lines greater confidence and convenience in choosing the Hong Kong port for bunkering, cargo handling, and related operations.

To remind, CLPe and CNOOC revealed plans for a joint venture to provide LNG bunkering services in Hong Kong at the end of 2024, aiming to accelerate the green transformation of the shipping industry.

This bunkering operation serves as a pilot project for the partnership, paving the way for future cooperation and attracting international oceangoing vessels to Hong Kong by offering environmentally friendly, efficient, and convenient green marine fuel bunkering services, the partners stated.