24 Apr 2024

Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, part of technology group Wärtsilä, will supply the cargo handling system for a new 12,500 m3 LNG bunkering vessel being built for Spanish shipowner Scale Gas, a subsidiary of Enagás, the owner and operator of Spain’s gas grid.

The vessel is co-financed by the Support for Sustainable and Digital Transport Programme, part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan from the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. The order has been placed by the yard building of the vessel, Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering, and was booked by Wärtsilä in Q1, 2024.

Small-scale LNG applications

Wärtsilä’s venture and market-pioneering role in small-scale LNG applications was emphasised

In placing the order, Wärtsilä’s experience and market-pioneering position in small-scale LNG applications was emphasised. The company’s ability to engineer, design and deliver a complete system, including the Boil-Off Gas (BOG) management, integrated fuel supply, custody transfer and bunkering transfer systems, was central to the contract award.

The number of LNG-fuelled vessels continues to increase, which in turn means that more LNG bunkering ships are needed. We are the leader in this segment for both ship and tank building, Wärtsilä’s experience and track record is recognised, so we selected them for this project,” said David Wei, Director of the Purchase Department, CIMC SOE.

Long-standing relationship

The trend towards LNG represents the industry’s transition to greater environmental sustainability, and we are extremely pleased to support this with modern and reliable systems that optimise overall cargo handling efficiency,” says Harald Øverland, Sales Manager, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled to be delivered to the yard during Q2, 2025. Wärtsilä has a long-standing relationship with Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering, and has supplied cargo handling systems for a number of LNG, LPG, ethane/ethylene, and multi-gas carriers built by the yard.