KLB completes first SIMOPs LNG bunkering in South Korea

Korea LNG Bunkering (KLB) bunkered H-LINE Shipping's LNG-powered bulk carrier with 1,000 mt of LNG during cargo unloading operations at the Port of Gwangyang in South Korea.

PHOTO: SIMOPs LNG bunkering operation of the HL-ECO vessel in the Port of Gwangyang in South Korea. Korea LNG bunkering

It is called simultaneous operations (SIMOPs) when ships are receiving LNG bunker fuel while they are unloading cargo. According to KLB, which is the bunkering arm of Korean Gas Corporation, shipping companies prefer this bunkering method as “it can reduce additional docking time and costs for fuel supply.”

SIMOPs have so far only been conducted in Helsinki, Amsterdam, Singapore and Shanghai.

KLB performed the ship-to-ship bunkering of the HL-ECO, an LNG-powered dual-fuel bulk carrier owned by South Korean shipping company H-LINE Shipping. The bunker operation was carried out by KLB’s bunker vessel Blue Whale.

Park Seong-hyun, chief executive of the Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority, suggested that the port was well-positioned for the transition to low- and zero-emission fuels. “Yeosu Gwangyang Port has sufficient infrastructure for importing, storing and supplying eco-friendly ship fuels such as LNG, methanol and ammonia,” he said.

LNG is becoming more popular as a bunker fuel alternative because of its relatively lower carbon footprint than conventional marine fuels. However, when methane slip from upstream and downstream processes are taken into account, LNG can emit about 19% more lifecycle GHG emissions than MGO over a 100-year period, a 2020 study from US non-profit International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) shows. 

ICCT also contended that the most commonly installed LNG marine engines – low-pressure dual-fuel, medium-speed, four-stroke – have greater methane slips. “Using LNG, this technology emitted 70% to 82% more life-cycle GHGs than MGO,” the ICCT study found.

In addition, the threat of a tighter regulatory environment and more stringent emission reduction targets has forced stakeholders to explore alternative fuels like green ammonia, renewable methanol and bio-LNG as ways to reduce emissions.

By Konica Bhatt

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