Gasum charters new liquefied gas bunker vessel
Finland-headed energy company Gasum Oyj has announced that it has chartered a new liquefied gas bunker vessel that will serve Gasum’s customers with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied biomethane (bioLNG) starting 2027. The vessel will be owned by a Joint Venture between Gasum and Swedish shipping company Sirius Shipping AB. The vessel will be built by RMK Marine yard in Istanbul Turkey.
Sirius Shipping and Gasum have a long history together, as Gasum has been the charterer of the bunker vessel Coralius since 2017 and Sirius Shipping has been managing Gasum’s bunkering vessel Seagas since 2012.
According to Gasum, the number of LNG-powered dual-fuel vessels calling at ports in Northwestern Europe is growing significantly.
The new state-of-the-art liquefied gas bunker vessel, to be named Celsius, will enable Gasum to fulfill its strategic ambition to increase LNG and bioLNG availability in the Northwestern European maritime market.
Ship owners are now seeing that switching to LNG and bioLNG is one of the best ways of reducing emissions in maritime logistics already today, instead of waiting for other technologies that have not yet reached maturity or the required scale or infrastructure. This state-of-the-art bunker vessel is an important investment in our ability to continue to deliver the quality service our customers expect from us now and in the future, said Mika Wiljanen, CEO at Gasum.
The investment, the value of which has not been disclosed, is part of Gasum’s strategy to secure the availability of LNG and bioLNG to its customers in the Northwestern European area as demand increases in the coming years.
This newbuilding project is proof that we are getting closer to our vision – to become the long-term first choice, for our colleagues, customers, and for society. We’re proud to be able to continue the collaboration with Gasum that started in 2012, and with this new and improved LNG vessel, it will continue for decades, said Jonas Backman, Managing Director of Sirius Shipping.
Improved efficiency, capacity, and functionality
Experience gathered by both Gasum and Sirius Shipping as well as the crew of the Coralius during the last eight years and nearly 1,000 bunkering operations has been vital in designing an updated version of the bunker vessel.
This has led to, for example, better fuel efficiency, improved tank insulation, larger cargo capacity, and improved fender handling for safety and efficiency.
The liquefied gas bunker vessel will further be equipped with a high-performance Gas Combustion Unit (GCU) capable of performing customer vessel cool-down operations at record speeds.
As regulation tightens, Gasum’s evolving services enable its customers to reduce emissions cost-effectively.
In 2024 Gasum launched the maritime pooling service to provide FuelEU Maritime regulation compliance as a service to companies operating vessels on traditional fuels.
Gasum can provide LNG and bioLNG bunkering services to all shipping companies that have vessels running on LNG. LNG and bioLNG are fully interchangeable, and they can be mixed at any ratio.
Using LNG in maritime transport means the complete removal of sulfur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM), and the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of up to 85 percent as well as a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 20 percent.
Liquefied biomethane, bioLNG, on the other hand, is a fully renewable fuel with life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are, on average, 90 percent lower when compared with the use of conventional marine fuels such as marine gasoil (MGO).
Gasum’s goal is to offer 7 TWh of renewable gas to its customers yearly by 2027, including biomethane and e-methane. Achieving this goal would mean a combined CO2 reduction of 1.8 million tonnes per annum for Gasum’s customers.
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