Bharati Shipyard to build first LNG fuelled vessel

Bharati Shipyard, a leading shipbuilder for the offshore sector, has plans to develop the first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessel in the country. Reportedly, the vessel is currently at the design stage and expects to deliver the vessels by the second half of 2010.

The company has already acquired orders for two Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels from Norway-based Sea Cargo AS. According to the company, these will be the first vessels built worldwide as per new IMO regulations of inherent gas safe concept.The vessels are estimated to cost $40 million each.

Once built, these vessels are expected to reduce fuel cost and substantially decrease emissions. It is known that the use of LNG is shipping vessels cuts CO2 emission by 23 percent.

Constructed at its Dhabhol and Goa facilities, each of the ships is going to have single engine propulsion and a capacity of 5800 DWT. The company has kept the design simple to help owners to deal with the risks involved in gas installations.

These vessels will have fuel storage capacity sufficient for operating for 10 days. Even though the owners have to bear 20 per cent additional cost in order to build such a ship, the advantages are significant. Besides complying to the emission norms and eliminating heavy fuel oil bunkers, it gives substantial gains in terms of reduced maintenance, savings on fuel cost and low emissions.

After completing its task of building LNG-powered vessels, the next step for the company would be to design tugs and offshore vessels powered by LNG.