(With video) In August, the Ternsund was the first sea-going vessel to bunker LNG in the port of Rotterdam.
As a result, the brand new product tanker of the Swedish shipping company Terntank has received the first Rotterdam "LNG bunkering incentive"; a premium amounting to a discount of ten per cent on the seaport dues.
LNG Bunkering
The Ternsund arrived in the port of Rotterdam for the first time on 7 August to unload naphtha and gas oil at Vopak in the Botlek. On Monday 8 August, the ship was shifted to the former home terminal of the ECT terminal at the Willem Alexanderhaven, where LNG bunkering took place a day later.
First, the temperature of the fuel tank was "cooled down"; from ambient temperature to operating temperature. With the aid of nitrogen, the temperature was reduced from +20°C to -162°C in eighteen hours. Then the actual bunkering of Shell LNG started. To this end, trucks drive between the Eemhaven and the Gate terminal (property of Vopak and Gasunie) on the Maasvlakte. Bunkering was completed on Wednesday morning after which the vessel continued on its way to Gothenburg.
Next year, the Port Authority will welcome a new bunker vessel, which Shell will use to supply sea-going vessels with LNG from the water.
Ternsund
With an overall length of 147 metres and a beam of 22 metres, the 15,000 DWT Ternsund is a twin-hull chemical tanker designed to meet Ice Class 1A. It is the first of four vessels ordered by Terntank from AVIC Dingheng Shipbuilding.
The vessel underwent its sea trials from 22 to 28 May (watch the video below) and was delivered at the end of June.
The Ternsund houses the first dual-fuel two-stroke engine employing the low-pressure X-DF gas admission technology developed by Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD). The 5-cylinder, 500 mm bore, Wärtsilä RT-flex50DF engine employing X-DF technology is installed as the main engine driving a single propeller.
Picture by Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD).
