AET charters out first dual-fuel VLCC to Shell Tankers

Singapore-based shipping company AET has taken delivery of the first in a series of three dual-fuel Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) being built by South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean.

PHOTO: AET’s dual-fuel VLCC Eagle Vellore at sea. AET

The 300,000-dwt VLCC, Eagle Vellore, can run on both LNG and conventional marine fuels.

Under an agreement signed in March 2021, all three vessels will be chartered out to Singapore-based Shell Tankers on a long-term contract.

The remaining two vessels are currently under construction at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard in South Korea. All three vessels will be managed by Malaysian ship management firm Eaglestar. Notably, both AET and Eaglestar are subsidiaries of MISC Group.

“Fleet composition is an essential lever to tackle the decarbonisation challenge, requiring increased investment in dual-fuel capable vessels and efficiency measures. LNG benefits from mature technology and a growing bunkering network which have helped cement its position as the leading alternative fuel today, with bio and synthetic LNG offering a long-term pathway to decarbonisation,” Shell’s senior vice president for crude trading Stacie Pitts says.

LNG has been gaining popularity among shipowners. The global LNG-fuelled fleet is currently made up of 420 vessels, with another 123 expected to join this year, classification society DNV data shows.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a greenhouse gas (GHG) compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

By Tuhin Roy

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