Belgian gas carrier owner Exmar has announced the delivery of the 146,000 m³ LNG carrier SIMAISMA. The vessel is fixed on a seven-year charter and will subsequently be converted into a floating transfer unit (FTU) serving the LNG bunkering market.
The vessel will soon undergo a dry-dock including modifications to make the vessel suitable as a floating transshipment unit (FTU), dedicated to the LNG bunkering market. The FTU will receive large parcels of LNG from trading LNG carriers and specialised LNG bunkering vessels will load at the FTU before supplying it as a fuel to vessels that use this clean LNG as a fuel.
EXMAR’s CEO, Carl-Antoine Saverys said: “EXMAR is gladly assisting its client in further paving the way to unlock LNG as a fuel for the shipping industry. The FTU is a smart solution with which our client bring down the costs of the logistics relating to the LNG bunkering. With this solution, we are building upon EXMAR’s close to 50 years of LNG experience. We look forward deploying more of these assets to unlock the full potential of LNG as a fuel for the maritime industry.”
Public records indicate that the Simaisa was built and delivered by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean) in 2006; it was originally part of a joint fleet operated by Maran Gas (part of the Greek Maran Group) and Nakilat, measuring 285 meters in length and 43 meters in breadth.
Exmar is currently exploring various decarbonization pathways for the shipping industry; the recent delivery of the first of four dual-fuel, ammonia-capable mid-sized gas carriers ordered by the company serves as a prime example of these efforts.