Norway gets new LNG bunkering vessel
Norwegian marine technology company Hoglund reported April 26 its role in converting a bunkering vessel to provide LNG.
Hoglund supplied the LNG gas-handling system, including a tank that has a capacity of 850 m3 and can bunker at a rate of 500 m3/hr, for the bunkering vessel Oslo Tank, which was renamed Bergen LNG after the retrofit. The vessel is now in service for the Norwegian maritime sector after completing sea trials.
While LNG helps the shipping industry meet its emission obligations under the IMO 2020 regime, the super-cooled gas is not without controversy. The World Bank has concluded that ammonia and hydrogen were the most promising zero-carbon fuels on the market, while LNG would play only a limited role in decarbonisation.
The bank said the greenhouse mitigation benefits of LNG were uncertain, and that countries and businesses that invest in LNG to meet International Maritime Organisation (IMO) emissions standards were taking on considerable risk, "including unnecessary capital expenditure, stranded assets, and technology lock-in."
The report sparked a strong rebuke from bunkering association SEA-LNG, which said avoiding LNG while fuels like hydrogen and ammonia are not yet commercially available “is a mistake.”