TGE Marine Gas Engineering on Thursday (25 April) announced its collaboration with Turkish shipbuilder RMK Marine on a new 7,800 m³ LNG bunker vessel, which was ordered by Sirius Shipping and Gasum. 

The vessel Celsius will have TGE Marine’s Type C Bi-lobe tanks and a cargo handling and fuel gas system on board. The vessel will be used for servicing a variety of LNG fuelled vessels and accommodate the needs an LNG fuelled ship will have for efficient bunkering, gas freeing- and conditioning operations. 

This project has been ongoing since summer of 2024, and TGE Marine’s Technical Sales Director Johannes Dziuba has been at the forefront of this project. 

He said: “I am very happy that our close cooperation with RMK Marine has yielded us this project. We have previous experience working together with Sirius and we know that it will be a great vessel. Even more special for us, this is the first vessel we see being built in Turkey.”

“As we are using Type C tanks, these tanks can handle gases in high pressure and cryogenic conditions, which allows for the safe handling and efficient transport of LNG. All operations can be carried out with the utmost crew safety in mind.” 

Jonas Backman from Sirius Shipping, said: “We are happy that we can work with TGE Marine again. We have had a successful previous collaboration since 2017 with TGE Marine from our Coralius vessel.”

Jakob Nielsen, Sales Director, adds: “We are very excited and proud to be selected for the Sirius’ and Gasum’s new vessel! It is a great achievement for TGE Marine, and we believe this will be the start of a very good relationship and developing a strong position for building LNG Bunker vessels in Europe.”

“This will also play a very important part of the much-needed infrastructure for the rapid growing LNG fuelled shipping fleet in the Baltic Sea and Kattegat Sea.”

Manifold Times previously reported Gasum announcing it has chartered a new LNG and bio-LNG bunker vessel that will serve Gasum’s customers starting 2027.

The new vessel, to be named Celsius, will enable Gasum to fulfil its strategic ambition to increase LNG and bio-LNG availability in the Northwestern European maritime market.

Celsius will be owned by a Joint Venture between Gasum and Swedish shipping company Sirius Shipping. 

Related: Gasum to charter new LNG bunker vessel to serve Northwestern European market

Photo credit: TGE Marine
Published: 29 April, 2025

Once a week, bunker intelligence platform ENGINE will publish a snapshot of alternative and conventional bunker fuel prices in the world’s two biggest bunkering hubs. The following is the latest snapshot:

• B100 now $90/mt cheaper than HSFO in Rotterdam
• LNG delivery premium down $10/mt in Rotterdam
• Singapore’s LNG flips to discount to LSMGO

B100’s discounts to fossil fuels have widened even further in Rotterdam. It is now $116/mt cheaper than VLSFO and a substantial $228/mt cheaper than LSMGO in the port.

Even for scrubber-fitted vessels bunkering in Rotterdam, B100 remains the most cost-effective alternative, standing at a significant $90/mt discount against HSFO.

Rotterdam's biofuel bunker sales fell to 110,000 mt in the first quarter of the year and made up 5% of the port’s total bunker sales, down from peaks of 10-11% between the third quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024.

Rotterdam’s sales have been trailing further and further behind Singapore’s 361,000 mt in the first quarter this year.

LBM continues to be Rotterdam’s cheapest bunkering option for dual-fuel vessel owners. Its discount to LNG has widened by a slight $2/mt, to $253–293/mt, depending on a vessel’s methane slip.

LBM's discount to VLSFO has also increased, now standing at $204–339/mt.

LBM’s discount to Rotterdam’s B100, meanwhile, has narrowed by $9/mt to $88–223/mt over the past week.

Liquid fuels

Rotterdam’s VLSFO benchmark has declined by $8/mt over the past week, mirroring an $8/mt decrease in front-month ICE Brent futures. Prompt supply of the grade remains tight in the wider ARA region, with lead times of 5–7 days recommended.

The port’s B100 price has declined by a greater $27/mt in the past week. PRIMA Markets last assessed the Dutch HBE rebate for B100 at $406/mt, up $16/mt from a week earlier.

Singapore’s VLSFO benchmark has remained unchanged over the past week. Lead times for the grade have grown longer, now standing at 6–18 days compared to 8–12 days the week before.

Liquid gases

Rotterdam's LNG bunker price has declined by $17/mt over the past week. The drop has largely been driven by a $10/mt drop in the bunker delivery premium over the Dutch TTF gas benchmark, which has fallen by $10/mt on the week to $83/mt.

LNG's discount to LSMGO has widened by a further $8/mt to $23/mt.

Singapore’s LNG bunker price has dropped by $51/mt in the past week. Asian LNG bunker prices typically track the NYMEX Japan/Korea Marker (JKM), which has declined by $0.82/MMBtu during the same period, pushing the front-month contract down to $11.27/MMBtu ($586/mt).

A price gap has "emerged between Asia and Europe amid stagnant demand in Asia, and the supply of US spot LNG to Asia increased due to arbitrage trading," according to JOGMEC.

Singapore’s LNG price has shifted to a $5/mt discount against LSMGO over the past week, down from a $41/mt premium. These prices include estimated EU compliance costs for Singapore–EU voyages.

By Konica Bhatt

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 29 April, 2025

Singapore-based container operator Pacific International Lines (PIL) on Friday (25 April) said it has named its first 8,200 TEU LNG dual-fuel containerships, Kota Oasis. 

The vessel was named by Mrs Cindy Chang, wife of Mr. Peter Chang, PIL’s Deputy Chairman, at a ceremony held at the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding yard in China.

Kota Oasis is the first in a series of four 8,200 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessels, designated as “O” Class, ordered by PIL from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. These newbuild vessels are part of PIL’s long-term plan to optimise its network deployment and renew its fleet for greater operational efficiency and increased sustainability.

Mr Lars Kastrup, CEO of PIL, said, “We are delighted to welcome Kota Oasis to our fleet. This vessel represents another significant milestone in our journey towards sustainability and operational excellence.”

“As the first Asian container shipping line to invest in LNG dual-fuel ships in 2022, we made a bold commitment towards reducing our environmental footprint and achieving our net zero emissions target by 2050.”

“Together with the 14,000 TEU ‘E’ class vessels recently delivered, the ‘O’ Class vessels will play a crucial role in enhancing our global connectivity and meeting the evolving needs of our customers.”

Besides being LNG powered, PIL’s “O” Class vessels are capable of using greener bio-methane fuels and also equipped with Win-GD’s XDF engines with iCER (Intelligent Control by Exhaust Recycling) which significantly reduce methane emissions. 

In addition, PIL’s “O” Class vessels are also equipped with ammonia intermediate-ready fuel tanks.

Kota Oasis will be PIL’s fifth LNG-powered vessel to be delivered, joining PIL’s four 14,000 TEU LNG vessels delivered since last year. PIL has another 13 LNG dual-fuel vessels on order to be delivered over the next few years.

Related: Singapore-based PIL names fourth 14,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel boxship in China

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 28 April, 2025