Vitol to expand LNG bunker fleet with three new vessels

Global energy firm and bunker supplier Vitol has ordered two LNG bunkering vessels from China and has also agreed to charter another newbuild from UK-based LNG supplier Avenir LNG.

PHOTO: Avenir LNG's bunkering vessel, Avenir Achievement. Avenir LNG

Vitol has ordered 12,500 cbm and 20,000 cbm-capacity LNG bunkering vessels from the Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering (CIMC SOE) shipyard in China. These vessels are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2027, respectively.

The time charter agreement with Avenir LNG involves a new 20,000 cbm-capacity LNG bunkering vessel. Upon delivery from the Chinese shipyard in the fourth quarter of 2026, the vessel will be chartered to Vitol for a period of seven years, with an option to extend it to up to 10 years.

In April, Avenir LNG ordered two LNG bunkering vessels with 20,000 cbm-capacity each from CIMC SOE.

“LNG enables shipowners to reduce their environmental footprint,” Vitol claims.

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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