First steel cut for Eesti Gaas LNG vessel

The 6,000m³ capacity vessel and its future sister-ships are intended to expedite the adoption of LNG as a cleaner alternative fuel in the north-eastern region of the Baltic Sea by providing a mobile and efficient ship-to-ship distribution service for the first time.

“The start of steel cutting for this brand-new vessel marks an important milestone in the start of her construction,” said Peter Anssems, sales manager, sales East and South-East Europe of Damen Shipyards Gorinchem.

“We are very grateful to Eesti Gaas and [parent company] Infortar for choosing Damen to build their new LNG bunkering vessel,” he added.

“With this high-tech joint venture, Eesti Gaas and our launch client ferry-operator Tallink will ascend to having the title of the LNG companies with the most competence and experience in this region,” said Kalev Reiljan, a member of the management board of Eesti Gaas.

Assembly of the 100m LGC 6000 LNG class vessel will start in May with the installation of the LNG tanks scheduled for November. Following sea trials, the ship will arrive in Estonia next summer and will start serving LNG clients in the autumn.

The vessel is designed to meet the requirements of ICE class 1A certification, allowing her to operate all year in the Gulf of Finland and the northern Baltic. She will also achieve green ship notation and a dual-fuel propulsion system will be used for the management of the boil-off gas in combination with a gas burner.

This project is co-funded by the EU through the CEF Transport programme.