Singapore has welcomed its first LNG-utilising bunker tanker, in the form of the dual-fuel, 7,990dwt Marine Vicky. Built by Keppel Nantong Shipyard for Singaporean bunker tanker owner/operator Sinanju, the tanker was also designed domestically, by naval architect SeaTech Solutions International. SeaTech claims to have drawn up 77 bunker tanker designs for Singaporean operations to date.
According to Sinanju managing director Ju Kai Meng, Marine Vicky will help to “pioneer the use of LNG as a clean, alternative fuel for bunker tankers in Singapore”. He adds: “I encourage more bunker tankers to be built with the view of using alternative fuels or other sustainable methods in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissins and [their] environmental impact.”
Marine Vicky has an overall length of 102.84m, a moulded breadth of 19m and a depth of 10m. The vessel has been designed and built to draw 7m (design) and 7.2m (summer), and can carry 17 crewmen and two guests, spread across 15 single and two double cabins. The tanker is powered by a pair of engines, each rated 1,200kW at 750rpm, which turn 2.5m-diameter fixed-pitch propellers for a speed of 11.5knots. A 330kW bow thruster provides enhanced manoeuvrability.
Her LNG is stored in a 55m3 tank, “with a fuel gas supply system on deck to supply gas to the engine”, says SeaTech, adding: “The vessel is also fitted with pipelines and tanks that enable it to carry multiple grades of marine fuel cargo.” Other onboard capacities include 240,000litres of MGO, 170,000litres of fresh water and 8.5 million litres of cargo oil. She was built in compliance with the requirements of class society Bureau Veritas. Marine Vicky is scheduled to commence operations in Q1 2020, where she will fulfil a two-year charter agreement with ExxonMobil Asia Pacific. Ju Kai Meng says that Sinanju’s next goal will be “to ensure that my crew is trained to handle LNG safely and in accordance with the strict procedures in place…we will be well prepared to further our ambition in carrying out LNG bunkering in 2021”.
