SEA/LNG launches Bunker Navigator Tool

Launched from the 6^th LNG Bunkering Summit currently taking place in Amsterdam, the new Bunker Navigator Tool uses member, marine information services and publicly available data to provide access to the latest developments in the global LNG bunkering infrastructure. SEA\LNG’s map-based tool provides an overview of key LNG bunkering developments and how this growing infrastructure relates to major global shipping routes, traditional oil bunkering ports, and the bulk LNG infrastructure that will provide the foundation for future bunkering services.

As the 2020 0.5% global sulfur cap edges ever closer, shipowners will need to make decisions that remain viable into the future – and choose between a limited number of options: LNG, scrubbers, or low sulfur fuels. SEA\LNG believes that demonstrating – through the Bunker Navigator Tool – that LNG bunkering infrastructure is available globally and is continually developing will support ship owners’ investments in LNG-fuelled ships.

Peter Keller, SEA\LNG Chairman and Executive Vice President, Tote said: “The coalition’s mission since inception has been to further the shipping industry’s knowledge of the viability and sustainability of LNG as a marine fuel. A key barrier has been a general lack of understanding of current and forthcoming LNG bunkering infrastructure. What we sought to achieve with the Bunker Navigator Tool is a quick, easy-to-access platform that includes relevant, up-to-date, and free-to-access information on LNG infrastructure and bunker development.”

Today LNG is readily available in bulk at circa 150 locations worldwide, and there is a huge bulk LNG infrastructure of regasification terminals and liquefaction plants globally. Of the world’s top oil-bunkering ports, nine of the top ten offer LNG bunkering, or will do so by 2020. However, it is the movement of LNG from bulk facilities to the ships, more commonly known as the ‘last mile’, where efforts are being concentrated to enable easy access to LNG as a marine fuel.

As well as an overview of key LNG bunkering developments, the map-based tool enables access to case studies which describe the bunkering projects being developed by SEA\LNG members at specific locations, with more added as they become available.

Keller added: “A collaborative approach to understanding the opportunities – and then tackling the associated commercial barriers – to LNG is crucial to fulfill its potential as an alternative to traditional bunker fuels. The reality is that LNG bunkering infrastructure is expanding at pace, and with the launch of the Bunker Navigator Tool, SEA\LNG hopes to raise awareness of, and build industry confidence in, the rapidly growing global availability of LNG bunkering.”

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/30012018/sealng-launches-bunker-navigator-tool/