Woodside has signed a five-year charter contract with Norwegian company Siem Offshore Australia Pty Ltd,  an agreement that will deliver Australia its first LNG-powered marine support vessel in 2017.

Woodside Chief Operations Officer, Mike Utsler, said the announcement positioned the company as an early adopter of LNG as a marine fuel in the region. “We’re thrilled to be the first company to bring one of these vessels to the southern hemisphere. Australia is on track to become the world’s largest producer of LNG, so it makes perfect sense to build dual-fuel capabilities for our marine fleets here”.

Woodside plans to use the new ship -  a  dual fuel LNG/MGO Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) VS4411 -  to support its activities in Western Australia, in the Exmouth and Pilbara regions,

reducing vessel greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions and the reliance on imported diesel.