Kanfer cements deal for two LNG bunker vessels
Norway's Kanfer Shipping has finalised a shipbuilding contract with China's Taizhou Wuzhou Shipbuilding Industry for the construction of its first two small-scale LNG bunkering ships with 6,000 m3 tank capacity each, it said on May 26.
Kanfer, part-owned by Singapore-based AG&P, is a developer of small-scale LNG carriers and bunkering vessels, as well as maritime LNG break-bulk and storage solutions. It signed a letter of intent with Taizhou on the vessels' development in January. The vessels are scheduled for delivery by the second half of 2023, with the option to build additional vessels.
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Kanfer CEO Stig Hagen said he sees a rapidly expanding market for LNG bunker vessels as the world maritime industry continues to pivot towards its decarbonisation goals through LNG. "The current very modest order book for new LNG bunkering vessels makes our decision well-timed, especially now that equivalent, new-built vessels to be delivered in 2022 and 2023 have already been chartered out," he said.
Kanfer expects to sign the first charter agreement for its small-scale LNG bunkering vessels this summer, Hagen told NGW in an interview last month.