Hong Kong Sees First Ship-to-Ship LNG Bunkering of VLCC

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday March 4, 2026

Hong Kong has completed its first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation for a very large crude carrier (VLCC), with CLPe carrying out the supply in collaboration with CNOOC (Shenzhen) International Marine Clean Energy Co.

The bunkering was conducted at South Cheung Chau Anchorage in February 2024, where VLCC Maran Dione was supplied with 4,700 m3 of LNG, CLPe said in an email statement on Tuesday.

The operation lasted around seven hours, with CNOOC’s 30,000 m3 capacity LNG bunkering vessel Haiyang Shiyou 301 delivering the fuel.

In June 2025, CLPe carried out a record LNG bunkering at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong, where it supplied 10,000 m3 of LNG to a Hapag-Lloyd ship.

"Compared with bunkering at a container terminal, anchorage bunkering for a vessel of this scale requires meticulous planning, precise execution and meeting the highest safety standards," the company said. 

LNG is often seen as the most mature alternative bunker fuel available today.

While it does reduce CO2 emissions compared with conventional marine fuels, its environmental advantages are partly offset by methane slip, which involves the release of a particularly potent greenhouse gas.

Against this backdrop, some shipowners are beginning to look at bio-LNG as a cleaner option. It can be used in existing LNG-fuelled ships and offers better overall greenhouse gas savings.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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