China's first and the world's largest liquefied natural gas bunkering ship, Offshore Oil 301, completed LNG refueling services for the world's largest tonnage dual-fuel very large crude carrier (VLCC) at the anchorage of Guangzhou Port, Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province.
This marks China's natural gas refueling industry having entered the forefront of the world.
The LNG transport refueling vessel, Offshore Oil 301, is the first liquefied natural gas bunkering ship independently designed, built, managed and operated by China. It injected 6,500 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas into the 320,000-ton dual-fuel tanker Maran Dione within 8.5 hours.
The refueling volume allows the ship to sail continuously more than 10,000 nautical miles, equivalent to the round-trip voyage from Guangzhou to Europe, according to the manager of the marketing and commercial department of CNOOC Guangdong Water Transportation Clean Energy Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of CNOOC Group.
This is the first time that China has carried out anchorage bunkering for VLCCs, added the manager. Compared with bunkering operations at a dock, the operation environment at an anchorage is more complicated, and the requirements for operation and safety management are higher.
Compared to conventional marine fuel, liquefied natural gas can achieve zero emissions of sulfur oxides, and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent, carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent and annual fuel costs by about 30 percent.
Featuring both environmental and economic benefits, liquefied natural gas is especially suitable for ocean going vessels with its large transport capacity and long load distance.
Currently, China has built the largest mobile bunkering ship in the world, and has fully mastered various bunkering technologies such as ship-to-ship, bunkering station-to-ship, tanker-to-ship and fuel tank replacement.
It is predicted that by 2025, the global LNG bunkering market demand will exceed 10 million tons, and reach 30 to 45 million tons by 2030.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China will speed up the construction of international ship LNG refueling centers in Tianjin, Xiamen, and Hainan, and will further improve the inland waterway LNG refueling chain.
The country will also promote the development of regional ship LNG fuel applications to realize further environmental and economic benefits.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
