KOREA LNG BUNKERING

KOGAS(CEO Hee-Bong Choi) and Korea LNG Bunkering INC. founded to promote LNG bunkering business has signed 7,500㎥ LNG bunkership with Hyundai Heavy Industries on February 24.

KOLB will build a bunkership that has arms and evaporated gas processing facility installed exclusively for LNG bunkering, and based on Tongyeong LNG terminal, KOLB will supply fuel using STS(Ship-To-Ship method) to LNG propulsion vessel from February 2023. 
KOLB will receive total 15 billion won funding as a subsidiary to ‘LNG bunkership building support program’ sponsored by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
With the funding, it will resolve economic issues from the lack of demand at the beginning, and reduce the burden on facility investment cost which will lead to competitive pricing for LNG supply.

An official from KOLB said “KOLB will not only start the STS method bunkering this year using the ‘SM JEJU LNG no.2’, the first combined LNG vessel in Asia, but also, we will expand the LNG supply using the first bunkership in Korea from 2023.” , and added “In the future when LNG bunkering business is more vitalized, we will contribute significantly to the improvement of domestic shipbuilding industry with the increase of order for LNG propulsion ship and improvement of domestic marine air environment.”

Meanwhile, IMO has regulated the sulphur content of fuel used by vessel to less than 0.5% since last January, so by year 2030, the use of LNG as marine fuel will increase up to 1.4 million ton in Korea, and about 30 million ton in the world.