Italian shipping group Fratelli Cosulich has chartered its first LNG bunkering vessel, Alice Cosulich, to Dutch LNG supplier Titan.
According to a statement by Fratelli Cosulich, the two firms signed a long-term charter agreement for the 5,300-dwt dual-fueled LNG bunkering vessel on June 6.
“This strategic agreement, including an extension option, marks a significant milestone in consolidating our leading position for marine fuel and LNG activities,” Fratelli Cosulich said without providing further details regarding the contract.
Alice Cosulich was recently delivered to Titan in Asia and will start operating in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year, it said.
China’s Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering (CIMC SOE) launched this LNG bunkering vessel, the first of two with a capacity of 8,200 cbm, in March this year.
CIMC SOE installed the vessel’s two type C bi-lobe LNG tanks in November last year.
In addition, the vessel features a cargo handling system by Wartsila and a Schottel propulsion system.
Fratelli Cosulich placed the order for this 113 meters long vessel at CIMC SOE for about $45 million in May 2021.
Titan expands LNG bunkering fleet
Michael Schaap, commercial director marine at Titan, said in the statement that this long-term deal strengthens the company’s collaboration with Fratelli Cosulich and further enhances its LNG and bio-LNG bunkering capabilities to meet growing demand in Europe.
“Our comprehensive LNG supply infrastructure allows the shipping industry to start delivering on decarbonization now. Both LNG and LBM are available today and enable ship operators to reduce emissions straight away,” he said.
Earlier this year, Titan signed a deal with Seapeak to buy two small-scale LNG carriers.
The vessels are Titan Unikum and Titan Vision, both built in 2011 and with a capacity of 12,000 cbm, and Titan will retrofit both of the ships to enable them to bunker LNG.
Titan owns two FlexFuelers, both with a 1,500 cbm capacity, and charters other LNG bunkering vessels.
The firm also revealed plans to build a large bio-LNG plant in the Amsterdam port and joined forces with Nordsol for another bio-LNG plant.