Shell teams up with Victrol and Sogestran for another LNG bunkering barge

LNG giant Shell has joined forces with a joint venture consisting of Belgium’s Victrol and French Sogestran to build another inland LNG bunkering barge for operations in the ports of Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam.

Shell already charters the bunkering barge, LNG London, from LNG Shipping.

Launched in July 2019, this inland LNG bunkering barge, claimed to be the first such vessel in Europe, has a capacity of 3,000 cbm.

Now the partners expanded their cooperation with a larger vessel which will have a capacity of 8,000 cbm, according to a joint statement issued on Tuesday.

Shell teams up with Victrol and Sogestran for another LNG bunkering barge
Image: Victrol

The RMK Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey, has laid the keel for the inland waterways LNG bunkering barge, LNG Erasmus, owned and operated by LNG Shipping and chartered by Shell, the statement said.

Also, Italy’s Gas & Heat will supply the tanks and cargo handling system, while MAN will deliver the gas engines.

Shell will take delivery of the barge in the second quarter of 2024 under a long-term time charter deal and for operations in the ARA region.

With this barge, LNG Shipping will “further enhance its expertise in safe LNG bunkering activities and in-house technical expertise in both engine and BOG management systems,” the statement said.

Shell’s head of downstream LNG, Tahir Faruqui, said that the new barge “further expands Shell’s portfolio of LNG bunker assets in the ARA region, underpinning our expansion plans for marine LNG and collaboration within the shipping industry to transition to lower-carbon fuels.”

Most Popular

Cheniere to start site preparation for two more Corpus Christi LNG trains

US LNG exporting giant Cheniere is seeking approval from the US FERC to start site preparation activities for two more midscale trains at its Corpus Christi LNG plant in Texas.

Amigo LNG, Sahara seal 20-year SPA

Amigo LNG, a unit of LNG Alliance, has signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement with Sahara Group to supply the latter with liquefied natural gas from its planned 7.8 mtpa LNG export plant in Mexico.

LNG shipping rates continue to decrease

Spot LNG freight shipping rates in both basins continued to decrease this week, while European prices increased compared to last week.

More News Like This

Gasum, Sirius order LNG bunkering vessel at RMK

Finnish state-owned energy firm and LNG supplier, Gasum, has joined forces with Swedish shipping firm Sirius to order one LNG bunkering vessel at Turkiye's RMK Marine.

WinGD: LNG carrier owner switches engine order

WinGD announced this contract in a statement on Tuesday saying the engines will power eight newbuild LNG carriers. According to...

Shell boosts European LNG bunkering business with new barge

Energy giant Shell has boosted its LNG bunkering business in Europe by adding a new inland LNG bunkering barge. Türkiye’s...

MAN will no longer offer ME-GA engine

Volkswagen’s MAN unveiled the ME-GA dual-fuel engine in March 2021, describing it as an Otto-cycle variant of the company’s...