Keppel to build additional LNG-carriers for Stolt-Nielsen Gas

Keppel Offshore & Marine’s unit Keppel Singmarine has signed two additional contracts with Stolt-Nielsen Gas to build two additional small-scale LNG carriers worth a total of around S$105 million ($75.9 million).

The contracts were signed following the exercise by Stolt-Nielsen Gas of its options for additional vessels that were granted as part of the original contract signed in May 2017 between Keppel Singmarine and Stolt-Nielsen Gas to build two LNG carriers.

The first option lapsed in November 2017, while the second and third options have now been exercised by Stolt-Nielsen Gas, a unit of Stolt-Nielsen, Keppel O&M said in its statement.

Abu Bakar, managing director (gas & specialized vessels), Keppel O&M, said, “these LNG carriers will be the 4th and 5th vessels capable of LNG bunkering as well as the 11th and 12th LNG powered vessels that Keppel will be building.”

Similar to its preceding two units, the two LNG carriers will each have a capacity of 7,500 cubic meters, and come equipped with engines that can run on both diesel and LNG.

To be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 respectively, the carriers will have a class notation for bunkering which enables the provision of LNG bunkering services if required.

With the tightening of global emissions standards, the marine industry is increasingly adopting LNG as a marine fuel. Economical and quick to market, small-scale LNG projects are a means to reaching end users located in remote areas not served by pipelines.

At the beginning of the month, Stolt-Nielsen agreed to invest $182 million in Avenir LNG, together with Höegh LNG and Golar LNG in order to pursue possibilities in the small-scale LNG market.