PetroChina’s Kunlun Energy has completed what it says is the first ship-to-ship offshore LNG bunkering operation in Hong Kong.
During the bunkering operation on February 14 at the southern anchorage of Hong Kong’s Cheung Chau, the bunkering vessel Xin Ao Pu Tuo Hao delivered LNG fuel to the LNG dual-fuel containership Zim Aquamarine.
Chinese private shipyard Yangzijiang Shipbuilding recently delivered this containership to Seaspan and Zim, the final 7000-teu LNG dual-fuel container vessel in a series of 15 ships.
Kunlun said that the containerships received 2,200 tons of LNG from the bunkering vessel during the maiden STS bunkering operation off Hong Kong.
Zim Aquamarine departed from Busan, South Korea, on February 3, and passed through Qingdao, Shanghai, and Ningbo before arriving in Hong Kong on February 12.
Its final destination is Istanbul, Turkiye, and this bunkering operation can meet the ship’s fuel needs for the entire journey, Kunlun said.
As per the bunkering vessel, it is operated by a Kunlun Energy subsidiary.
It is equipped with two type C cargo tanks with a maximum capacity of 8,500 cubic meters, providing customers with one-stop services, including cold storage, degassing, and LNG bunkering, Kunlun said.
Boosting LNG bunkering in Hong Kong
The completion of this offshore LNG bunkering operation is “another example of Kunlun Energy’s efforts to help improve the international shipping hub of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” it said.
Kunlun said that it is expected to attract more LNG-powered vessels to pass through Hong Kong.
Prior to this move, Hong Kong’s CLP joined forces in December 2024 with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to provide LNG bunkering services in the port of Hong Kong.
CLP, the group’s unit CLPe signed a cooperation framework agreement with China National Offshore Oil Company Guangdong Water Transport Clean Energy to form a joint venture.
Under the cooperation agreement between CLPe and CNOOC, the planned joint venture
will sell and supply LNG as fuel to ships in the port of Hong Kong,
CLP said this will support the development of the LNG fuel bunkering sector in the Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and further consolidate Hong Kong’s position as a leading international maritime center.
It’s worth mentioning here that Hong Kong’s first FSRU-based LNG import facility, owned by a joint venture of CLP Power and HK Electric, started commercial operations in 2023.
MOL’s 263,000-cbm FSRU Bauhinia Spirit serves the offshore terminal under a charter deal.
Regasified LNG is being sent to CLP Power’s Black Point power station and HK Electric’s Lamma power station, raising the power companies’ low-carbon generation capability and fuel supply security in support of Hong Kong’s energy transition.