zoomImage Courtesy: Gasum Ltd

LNG bunker vessel Coralius, operating on behalf of Finnish gas company Gasum, made its milestone 100th bunkering in late February.

Gassum noted that Coralius reached this milestone in 18 months of operations, mainly in the North Sea and the Skagerrak area.

Coralius was built by the Royal Bodewes in the Netherlands and is the first European-built LNG bunker and distribution vessel. It has a cargo capacity of 5,800 m3.

Coralius delivers LNG through ship-to-ship bunkering at sea and in port. This has increased Gasum’s flexibility and responsiveness to vessels that require LNG but are unable to visit a terminal or a port.

“With Coralius, we have been able to perform bunkering to different types of vessels, which is quite unique and demands us to be prepared for all types of vessels,” Kimmo Rahkamo, vice president of natural gas and LNG at Gasum, said. “The bunkering operations are swift and safe, and we have received great feedback from our customers. Coralius has definitely increased Gasum’s flexibility as an LNG supplier.”

The company further said it expects an increase in the average amount of delivered stem, as it will perform bunkerings on shuttle tankers and other bigger vessels.