Asia/Pacific News
Semcorp to Build a Dozen LNG-fuelled Tugs
Singapore-based company Sembcorp Marine is to replace its fleet of diesel powered tugs with gas-powered vessels.
Twelve tugs using liquified natural gas (LNG) as their primary fuel will be built at the company's Tuas Boulevard Yard through to 2025, according to a report by local news provider the Straits Times.
"We expect to start constructing the first pair of hybrid tugs in 2019 and have them ready for operation by 2021," the head of Sembcorp Marine Wong Weng Sun was quoted as saying.
Class society ABS and technology firm A*Star's Institute of High Performance Computing will be involved in the project while Sembcorp has its eye on the international market.
"LNG tugs are one LNG-fuelled vessel type that we hope to market to shipping port hubs internationally," its head of research and development Simon Kuik was quoted as saying.
LNG as bunker fuel is seen as an alternative to oil-derived fuel oil.
