Terntank Orders 2 More LNG Fueled Tankers

Terntank proclaims its options on two sister ships to the two LNG powered product tankers ordered in the autumn of 2013. The oil company NEOT also confirmed that they are taking in two of these on time charter.

Terntank Rederi AS now has four LNG powered 15,000 dwt product tankers on order at the Chinese shipyard Avic Dingheng Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The ships will be delivered at three-month intervals so that the first one will be delivered in the spring of 2016 and the fourth in the beginning of 2017.
 
Terntank elected to declare its two options because there is considered to be a demand for energy efficient and environmentally adapted tanker tonnage.

Environmental advantages

By using LNG as fuel it is possible to achieve significant environmental advantages in comparison with low-sulphur marine gas oil, which many shipping companies will be switching to when the more stringent sulphur regulations come into force in 2015. LNG reduces emissions of SOx by 90 per cent, NOx emissions by almost 80 per cent, and particulate matter by over 90 per cent. The newly built ships will also emit 35 to 40 per cent lower volumes of CO2 than a conventional tanker today, reports Terntank.

The ships will be fitted a low-speed main engine from Wärtsilä with dual fuel and low-pressure technology. The new engine complies with the emission requirements for IMO Tier III without other exhaust emission systems for NOx during the use of LNG. Bunkering will take place ship-to-ship with bunker ships.

 Cooperation

Two of the new ships will be long-term chartered by NEOT, North European Oil Trade Oy, in Finland. NEOT, which is jointly owned by the cooperative union SOK and the oil company St1 Nordic Oy, currently have three of Terntank’s ships in service: Ternvik, Ternhav and Ternholm. They will continue in service until the new ships have been delivered. The energy consulting company Wega Advisors Oy in Finland has negotiated the agreement between Terntank and NEOT.

“We think Terntank is a high quality company who will be the first ship owner who has the innovative LNG technology in use and they are a local company who knows our trading area very well including ice navigation. We believe LNG technology will help us to ensure continuous operations in the Baltic Sea region by meeting the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) requirements that will become binding from the 1st January 2015. Cooperation with Terntank is also a natural continuation for the cooperation we already have with them including the three time chartered vessel at the moment,” says Satu Mattila, Chartering Manager at NEOT.