News

Coral Star and Coral Sticho

These LNG-fueled LEG vessels operate between Teesport (UK) and ports on the European continent and were delivered by Anthony Veder to SABIC in late 2014. The vessels carry Liquefied Ethylene Gas (LEG) from SABIC’s Wilton facility on Teesside to manufacturing plants in North-Western Europe and Scandinavia. The chemicals will be used to make a range of everyday items such as food packaging, PVC, detergents, and adhesives.

First LNG bunkering of Coral Star and Coral Sticho in UK

In May 2015, Shell bunkered the by SABIC-chartered vessels in Teesport, United Kingdom at a temporary LNG bunkering facility. SABIC is developing a permanent jetty at PD Ports in parallel, which will be completed later this year.

Jan Valkier, CEO of Anthony Veder states, “This first LNG bunkering allows for a continuous safe and reliable bunkering operation for the Coral Star and Coral Sticho. We are proud that these vessels are the world’s first LNG-fuelled LEG carriers. A major achievement for LNG as a marine fuel and our company. We highly appreciate the close collaboration between well-respected partners involved that made this success possible.”

Arjan Stavast, Shell LNG Business Development Manager, explains, “We are very proud of achieving this milestone for LNG bunkering. The intensive collaboration between Shell, SABIC, Anthony Veder and contractors Schenk, Unitrove, PD Ports and Liqal has enabled this success.”

Benefits of the UK LNG bunkering facility

SABIC is committed to take the next step in their supply chain in terms of efficiency, cost reductions, and last but not least environmental benefits. LNG fuel is a new alternative for vessel operators, responding to new sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions regulations, as part of the Emission Control Areas (ECAs).

With the establishment of a bunkering solution in Teesport, the vessels will fully sail on LNG, creating a reduction in emissions. LNG contains virtually no sulphur or particulate matter, and significantly reduces NOx emissions versus heavy fuel oil. LNG also can help to reduce well-to-wake greenhouse gas emissions.

“SABIC is pleased with Shell’s temporary bunkering facility in the UK, as our vessels now no longer need to bunker the fuel in Zeebrugge. This will certainly increase efficiency and reduce costs. Simultaneously, we are preparing our own SABIC bunkering facility in Teessside. The solution with Shell is helping us to bridge the time until we have our own LNG bunkering facility in Q4 this year.”

“Compared to other marine fuels, LNG drastically cuts both sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, considerably improving the environmental performance of our vessels. With the establishment of a bunkering solution in Teesport, the vessels will sail completely on LNG.”

“As a responsible global company, SABIC is committed to providing high-quality products to our customers, while doing all we reasonably can in order to reduce the environmental impact of our operations,” says Paul Ruigt, Category Manager for Shipping & Barging at SABIC Supply Chain Chemicals Europe. “The establishment of the LNG bunkering solution enables us to run the LEG carriers fully on LNG and supports us in meeting our targets on emission reduction. The bunkering solution is part of a bigger project to realize a breakthrough in the application of LNG for short sea shipping by starting and developing a dedicated LNG demand and supply chain in the United Kingdom. This pioneering project is co-financed by the European Union.”

Click here for the Newsflash by Shell and click here for the publication on SABIC’s site.