On December 11th, 2018, the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel “Kairos” has started operations in Northwest Europe. Chartered by Blue LNG, a joint venture of the Hamburg based leading LNG supplier “Nauticor” with a 90% share and the Lithuanian energy infrastructure provider KN with a 10% share, the ship was handed over by the owner Babcock Schulte Energy in the port of Klaipeda.
Mahinde Abeynaike, CEO of Nauticor, underlined the importance of achieving this important milestone: “With the handover of “Kairos” we are securing the supply of LNG as a marine fuel in the Baltic Sea on a large-scale basis. Thanks to our large LNG storage tanks with a pump rate equivalent to more than 30 LNG trucks per hour and our innovative maneuvering technology, marine customers will be able to benefit from an extremely fast and safe LNG ship to ship supply. From now on, also large vessels can bunker LNG in the Baltic Sea.”
The construction of the vessel started in 2016 when the joint venture signed a time-charter agreement with ship owner Babcock Schulte Energy. In February 2018, steel cutting took place at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Ulsan, South Korea, and in October 2018 the vessel was delivered by the shipyard.
With a tank capacity of 7,500 m³, „Kairos“ is the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel. The ice class vessel has several other unique features, including the ballast-free design and installation of a CNG tank to store vapour return gas from customer vessels.
Nauticor GmbH & Co. KG
The Hamburg based company Nauticor GmbH & Co. KG is a leading supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel for ships. As a part of The Linde Group, a world-wide leading gas and engineering company, Nauticor combines a broad range of competencies in cryogenic technology, logistics, and bunkering to develop LNG supply solutions for maritime customers in Northwest Europe, especially the North and Baltic Sea. It is Nauticor’s strategy to cover the entire LNG value chain from the terminal to the end customer, including sourcing, transport, storage and bunkering in all strategically important ports.
Contact person Nauticor:
Jan Schubert
Senior Manager Sales & Business Development
+49 (0) 40 468 959 331