LNG gas carriers make the cut

Operated by shipowner Anthony Veder, the new vessels will carry Liquefied Ethylene Gas (LEG) from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) chemical facility on Teesside to manufacturing plants in North-West Europe and Scandinavia.

The state-of-the-art vessels are expected to drastically cut both sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions compared to the vessels they are replacing. Switching to alternative fuel for ships, such as LNG, instead of traditional fuel oils is one of the solutions identified by Anthony Veder to help SABIC further improve its environmental footprint.

“We are proud to be the first chemical company in the world to be transporting our products on carriers running on LNG and to have an innovative partner in Anthony Veder,” said Wouter Vermijs, European supply chain director of chemicals, SABIC.

With a cargo capacity of 4,768m³, Anthony Veder says the vessels will reduce NOx emissions by over 85%, with SOx and soot particles reduced by almost 100%, and CO2 by 20%.

“By demonstrating their commitment to using LNG powered vessels, SABIC and Anthony Veder are leading and embracing this cutting-edge technology. We could be at the forefront of opening up a whole new sector of sea-going transport”, added Jan Valkier, CEO, Anthony Veder.

The cost of the additional LNG investment for the vessels has been partly funded by the European Union’s TEN-T programme.