News
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels
Paris, October 26, 2021 – The first LNG bunker vessel to be based in France has been officially named “Gas Vitality”, at a ceremony held today at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, China.
This event took place in China, in accordance with the country’s current COVID regulations.
The 18,600-m³ newbuild bunker vessel is TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ second collaboration with shipowner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd (MOL) and shipbuilder, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding following the signing of a long-term charter contract in November 2019. All three parties first collaborated in 2018 to successfully design and build her sistership, the Gas Agility, which has been operating in the Port of Rotterdam since November 2020.
Classed by Bureau Veritas and operated by V.Ships France under the French flag, the Gas Vitality will enter operational service in December 2021 and be based in the Port of Marseille-Fos, Southern France, to serve the Mediterranean region. She will notably perform LNG bunkering services to CMA CGM’s LNG-fueled containerships and MSC Cruises’ upcoming LNG-powered cruise ships that call at the French port.
“We are delighted to officially name our second chartered LNG bunker vessel. The ‘Gas Vitality’ is a testament of our commitment to provide our shipping customers with another major European hub to help meet their LNG bunkering needs,” said Jérôme Leprince-Ringuet, Vice-President Marine Fuels at TotalEnergies. “With the accelerated pace of transition to marine LNG we are witnessing among ship owners, it shows the shipping industry’s readiness to act today to curb their current greenhouse gas emissions, whilst paving the way for future, alternative fuel solutions such as bioLNG and other cryogenic fuels. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the value chain to expand the range of solutions that will help to decarbonize shipping,” he added.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all partners who have been involved in the planning, building and successful completion of the “Gas Vitality”. “Gas Vitality” is a significant milestone in our long-term partnership with TotalEnergies throughout the LNG supply chain and our commitment towards a decarbonized world. I am confident that our commitment to deliver LNG as a marine fuel, will accelerate the transition to LNG fuel as a competitive, environmentally efficient and immediately available solution for the maritime industry,” said Kenta Matsuzaka, Senior Managing Executive Officer at MOL.
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Key Features of the ‘Gas Vitality’
The Gas Vitality is a 135 meters long GTT Mark III membrane vessel. She incorporates a range of features that enables her to meet the highest technical and environmental standards, including :
- Increased loading and bunkering rate by 25%, to a maximum of 2000m3/hr, through upgraded cargo pumps and high duty compressors.
- New pressure reduction system to optimize bunkering operations of ‘Type C’ tank vessels under all conditions.
- Azimuth propellers and two bow thrusters, delivering an extremely high degree of maneuverability enabling tug-free operations in port and further reducing the environmental impact of her operations.
- Two manifolds for enhanced ship-to-ship bunkering flexibility across vessel types and sizes.
- Equipped to offer Electronic Bunker Delivery Notes (e-BDN) to her customers.
- Onboard re-liquefaction of the boil-off gas is further used for propulsion and for the vessel’s own power generation.
LNG as a marine fuel
LNG as a marine fuel has gained positive momentum as the global shipping industry looks to adapt to stricter emissions standards.
Used as a marine fuel, LNG helps to cut:
● Sulfur emissions by 99%,
● Fine particle emissions by 99%,
● Nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 85%,
● Greenhouse gases emissions by up to 23% (Well-to-Wake)1LNG represents an available and competitive solution that contributes to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) long-term strategy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Traction in developing LNG bunkering infrastructure has consequently expanded with several leading ports and LNG bunker suppliers alike having established key initiatives and made significant progress in support of these developments. LNG as a marine fuel also lays the foundation for the introduction of greener bioLNG in the future.
1 Sphera’s ‘2nd Life Cycle GHG Emission Study on the Use of LNG as Marine Fuel’ study: https://sphera.com/research/2nd-life-cycle-ghg-emission-study-on-the-use-of-lng-as-marine-fuel/
First LNG Bunker Vessel Based in France Named Gas Vitality
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TotalEnergies, Second Largest Global LNG Player
TotalEnergies is the world's second largest publicly traded LNG player, with a global portfolio of nearly 50 Mt/y by 2025 and a global market share of around 10%. Thanks to its interests in liquefaction plants in Angola, Australia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Russia and Qatar, the company markets LNG on all world markets. TotalEnergies also benefits from strong and diversified positions throughout the LNG value chain, including gas production, LNG transportation, LNG trading, and some recent development in the LNG industry for maritime transport.
About TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, clean, reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people
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About TotalEnergies Marine Fuels
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels is TotalEnergies’ dedicated business unit in charge of worldwide bunkering activities. With over three decades of market experience, our strategic focus on cleaner marine fuel solutions gives our shipping customers the confidence and support they need to reduce their environmental footprint and navigate their pathway towards achieving the sector’s decarbonization goals.
At TotalEnergies Marine Fuels, we are constantly innovating to provide new, efficient bunkering services, and high-quality marine fuel solutions. Our spectrum of marine fuels includes Low Sulphur Fuel Oil, Marine Distillates, and cleaner fuels, such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), bioLNG and biofuels.
About Mitsui O.S.K Lines
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), as a multi-modal transport group, meets the needs of the era in a wide variety of fields including dry bulkers, crude oil tankers, LNG carriers and offshore business, methanol carrier, chemical tankers, product tankers, car carriers, ferries, RORO ships, and logistics. MOL’s activities are truly borderless, based on the operation of one of the world’s largest merchant fleets, backed by expertise and technology developed throughout our over 130-year history. MOL supports the growth of the world economy with the entire globe as our stage, while continually evolving into an excellent and resilient corporate group.
Contacts
TotalEnergies
Jason Knights, Director, Knights Media & Public Relations, on behalf of TotalEnergies
M +44 (0)78 51 866 007 | E [email protected] | W www.knightsmpr.com
Mitsui O.S.K Lines
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. Media Relations Team, Corporate Communication Division
Telephone: +81 (3) 3587 7015 | Facsimile: +81 (3) 3587 7705
E-mail: [email protected]
Cautionary Note
This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TotalEnergies SE has no liability for their acts or omissions. The terms “Company” or “TotalEnergies company” refer collectively to the company TotalEnergies SE and the companies it controls directly or indirectly. Such terms are used solely for the sake of convenience for purposes of the present communication. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.