Arranged as a very worthwhile last-minute bonus
As well as two days of presentations, including round table discussions, the package enjoyed by some 140 delegates included the conference dinner, supported by GE Marine, and three technical visits – two including the chance to go on board actual gas-fuelled ships – at the end of the event. The final visit, to a dual-fuel offshore supply ship, was arranged as a very worthwhile last-minute bonus.
First day chairman Lars Robert Pedersen, deputy secretary general of BIMCO, gave the welcome address, summarising the last GFS conference. Anders Mikkelsen, business development leader DNV GL, gave the first keynote speech. He explored the ‘big questions’ of pricing, availability, the risks and opportunities of new low sulphur fuels and the uncertainty of what will happen after the low sulphur limits come in. Despite this, there is a lot of optimism in the industry. The small scale LNG value chain is critical, and users and potential users need to understand how this will work. Globally, infrastructure clusters are fast developing to support bunker supplies. 52 LNG fuelled ships are in operation worldwide. Previously almost entirely Norwegian, the fleet is getting more international. There are 78 confirmed orders, with greater variety of ship types and more outside Europe. So with 130 confirmed ships, excluding gas carriers and inland vessels, we will reach 2020 with strong momentum for the gas fuelled ship orderbook.
Jaroslaw Kotowski, project manager INEA for the EC, gave the second keynote speech, on encouraging LNG bunkering opportunities in Europe. There has been considerable support for ‘green’ shipping projects, particularly LNG, and funding is still available for such developments.
Aksel Skjorvheim, Shell LNG business development manager, gave the third keynote address, outlining the development of small scale LNG supply in Europe. He believes there is a strong case for gas as ship fuel, and Shell intends to play a strong role. The company believes in small-scale plants feeding off the large ones, to supply smaller quantities of gas, as part of a network of regional and local hubs, which will include bunker vessels. The challenge is to do this in a cost effective way, to compete with other fuels, and this will depend on volume. There are no technical or logistic limitations, the market just needs the right concentration of end users.