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I.M. Skaugen names first vessel in innovative multigas series |
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Tuesday, 17 November 2009 |
 The I.M. Skaugen Group (IMSK) yesterday named the first ship in its new series of Multigas carriers, the Norgas Innovation, in a ceremony at the Skaugen JV Shenghui Gas & Chemical Systems' facilities in Zhangjiagang, north of Shanghai, China. At the ceremony, Morits Skaugen, CEO of I.M. Skaugen, stated:
"This is an important day for everybody at the company and especially
for those concerned in the development of these highly advanced gas
carriers.
We have been responsible for all elements in this project - from
initial design right through to construction. The vessel is built at
our joint venture facilities in China - and I am delighted that the
first of these unique and highly specialized gas carriers will soon be
demonstrating first-hand why we decided to construct such an
innovative, industry-leading ship." The 10,000 cbm sized vessel, named
"Norgas Innovation", will initially enter the fleet of Norgas Carriers,
the I.M. Skaugen company involved in the maritime transportation of
petrochemical gases and LPG. However, this first Multigas vessel will,
in the second half of 2010, be dedicated to Nordic LNG
(www.nordiclng.com) and their Mini LNG business in Scandinavia. Nordic
LNG - a joint venture between Lyse and I.M. Skaugen – will supply
natural gas to 'stranded' customers who do not have access to pipeline
networks. The Multigas vessel will be used to transport the LNG
directly industrial to end-users as well as to Nordic LNG's own hub
terminals for onward distribution. End user markets include also the
maritime fuel market, where LNG will replace bunker oils. Small-scale
LNG will enable industrial users and power plants in these stranded
markets to switch from oil based processes and power generation to more
cost efficient gas and with a significant reduction of CO2 and other
emissions. The environmental impact of switching to gas are
indisputable; 25-30% less CO2 emission, 80% less NOx and 100% reduction
of both SOx and particulate matters. Environmental benefits would also
be gained in maritime bunker markets. As legislation covering the
shipping industry becomes tighter, emissions of sulphur dioxide (SOx)
and nitrogen oxides (NOx) must be reduced and, eventually, this will
also apply to CO2. The long term future of heavy fuel oil as bunkers is
questionable, both in terms of dependency on oil and not at least with
regards to emissions. Natural gas in contrast gives a far more
environmentally friendly combustion and in addition there appear to be
greater reserves available than oil. Thus natural gas in liquid form
(LNG) as marine bunkers has the potential to be the solution for the
shipping industry to cope with its emission challenges in the years to
come. By running their vessels on LNG ship owners will be able to solve
their emission problems at the source and avoid the need for auxiliary
equipment such as scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
units. To make LNG a real alternative to traditional fuel oil and
diesel oil bunkers, a suitable infrastructure has to be developed. This
means that LNG has to be shipped from either LNG liquefaction plants or
traditional LNG import terminals to smaller regional hubs. There,
LNG-fueled ships can bunker either directly or from smaller LNG bunker
vessels serving the hub. Our Multigas carriers are ideally suited to
this 'breaking-bulk' LNG depot supply activity. During a year in LNG
trade Norgas Innovation would contribute a net reduction of CO2
emissions with more than 300.000 tons of CO2 – by providing the LNG
that allows customers to switch to natural gas. This means during her
life time - Norgas Innovation will reduce CO2 emissions with more than
7 million tons of CO2. The flexibility inherent in the cargo-handling
system enables the Multigas ships to move between the LNG, LPG and
petrochemical gas trades as commercial circumstances dictate, However,
it is the ability to handle LNG at cryogenic temperatures which makes
these ships particularly notable. Skaugen is poised to play a
pioneering role in the local and regional distribution of LNG at a time
when the global LNG trade is growing strongly and the natural gas
supply chain is being extended to provide remote communities with
access to this clean-burning fossil fuel for the first time. Interest
in both the Mini LNG concept and our Multigas newbuilding programme has
grown strongly in recent years and we have no doubt that these vessels
have a bright future in serving regional LNG distribution markets. The
vessel is scheduled to be delivered to its owners, a Singapore based
company called Singco Gas Pte Ltd, a 50/50 joint venture between GATX
Corporation (www.gatx.com) and by I.M. Skaugen Marine Services Pte Ltd,
a 100% owned subsidiary of Norway-based I.M. Skaugen SE
(www.skaugen.com) by end of this year/early January 2010. Flying
Singaporean flag, the vessel will be operated by Norgas Carriers AS.
I.M. Skaugen joined forces with GATX in year 2000 for the joint
construction and joint ownership of the six "Somargas" Ethylene
carriers (four 8,600 cbm size and two 10,200 cbm size) built by I.M.
Skaugen in China and delivered in 2002 and 2003. GATX is a leader in
leasing transportation assets and controls one of the largest railcar
fleets in the world. Applying over a century of operating experience
and strong market and asset expertise, GATX provides quality assets and
services to customers worldwide. The company has so far in total six (4
x 10,000 cbm + 2 x 12,000 cbm) such ships under construction through
Skaugen Marine Construction, the division within I.M. Skaugen that
manages its newbuilding activities in China. The delivery of these six
vessels will be completed over the next two years, but the longer-term
plan is to build at least 10 of these Multigas carriers. The Multigas
ships are built to the classic semi-pressurized/fully refrigerated
(semi-ref) gas carrier design. In addition to LNG, the vessels are able
to carry a wide range of other liquefied gas cargoes, including
ethylene, LPG and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Irrespective of the
liquefied gas being carried, cargo boil-off gas on the Multigas ships
will be reliquefied by specialist equipment onboard and returned to the
cargo tanks. When LNG is being carried, an innovative Mini LNG plant
will be utilized to reliquefy all natural gas boil-off. The Mini LNG
plant's patented and licensed technology was developed by Skaugen in
cooperation with SINTEF Energy Research in Norway.
Source: IM Skaugen
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