First LNG bunkering for pure-gas inland Chinese vessels
The 14 ton bunkering operation was carried out at an LNG bunkering station operated by China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) in Huangpu, Zhongshan province on 25 November.
The operation was the first delivered as part of the Green Pearl River project, which is intended to increase the proportion of LNG-fuelled vessels operating in China’s southern Guangdong province. Annual demand for LNG bunkers in the province is expected to eventually reach 400,000 tons. A local manager at CNOOC confirmed that the group planned to expand the network of LNG bunkering, bringing a further three skid-mounted stations into service before the end of Q1 2022. The network was eventually expected to expand to 15, under the current Five-Year plan.
The 65-metre long 3,000dwt Dafeng 3001 and 60-metre long 2,000dwt Zhonghe 2001 are the first of a series of 50 pure-gas vessels on order at China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Gujiang Shipbuilding. The two vessels entered service with GNG Ocean Shipping, a subsidiary of Guangdong Province Navigation Groyo on 2 November.
A further 100 LNG-fuelled vessels are expected to enter service with state-owned Guangxi Jinxiang Shipping between April 2022 and December 2023.
The announcement of the first bunkering comes shortly after CNOOC announced that it has begun bunkering operations at its first coastal LNG bunkering station, at the port of Macun in the neighbouring province of Hainan. The station began commercial operations on 20 November.
