• 27 Oct 2016

Bomin Linde LNG has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Swedish ship-owner Furetank Rederi initiating a long-term cooperation regarding the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the Baltic Sea region.

According to the LOI, Bomin Linde LNG will supply the Furetank Rederi vessels ship-to-ship with a new LNG bunker supply vessel both in ports and potentially offshore, using dinamic positiong (DP2) equipment. The vessel is chartered by a joint venture, established in November 2015, in which Bomin Linde LNG holds 90 percent and the remaining 10 percent held by Klaipėdos Nafta, the owner and operator of the Klaipeda LNG import terminal, in Lithuania. The commissioning of this Klaipeda-based supply vessel, the largest of its kind to date (7,500 c.m. capacity), is scheduled for late 2018.

In 2015 Furetank Rederi began retrofitting the tanker Fure West pioneering the use of LNG as marine fuel in Europe. In cooperation with the partners in the Gothenburg-based Gothia Tanker Alliance, four LNG-fuelled newbuildings were ordered and are currently under construction. These newbuildings are planned for commissioning in late 2018 and early 2019.

Sonja Nesshoever, Director LNG Portfolio of Bomin Linde LNG says: “We are looking forward to develop a safe and flexible LNG supply chain in cooperation with a frontrunner like Furetank Rederi. As an important step forward to reduce costs for our clients and to optimise shipping routes we will also jointly explore the possibility of introducing LNG in Lightering Areas of the Baltic Sea.” Lightering Areas are designated zones which allow for offshore bunkering outside port boundaries.

The Linde Group already operates the LNG terminal in Nynashamn and the smaller LNG bunker supply vessel Seagas, in Stockholm.