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Wartsila has won a contract to supply the cargo handling system and cargo tanks for a new 3,000-cubic-metre-capacity LNG bunker barge that is due to be chartered by Shell Western LNG B.V. (Shell).

The barge will be owned by LNG Shipping - a consortium between Belgium's Victrol and French firm CFT Corporation; it is currently being built in Romania and will be outfitted in the Netherlands.

When delivered, the barge is scheduled to operate out of Rotterdam to provide charterer Shell with additional capacity and flexibility to bunker LNG-fuelled ships, including vessels travelling on Europe's inland waterways.

The order with Wartsila was booked in June.

The full scope of Wartsila solutions comprises the cargo handling system, cargo tanks, and installation of the cargo arrangement on board the vessel.

"Undoubtedly the award of this contract was based largely on Wartsila's vast experience and broad in-house know-how concerning gas systems. Our strength throughout the LNG value chain is well known, and this new bunker vessel provides yet another link to this chain," said Timo Koponen, Vice President, Flow & Gas Solutions, Wartsila Marine Solutions.

"Wartsila is a leader in gas handling technology and we are pleased to have them as a partner in this newbuild project. Furthermore, their ability to provide the equipment on a fast-track basis is important for the delivery scheduling of this barge," remarked Victrol's Gisele Maes Buelens.

Bunker Index reported last month that Shell had finalized the time charter agreement for the new 3,000-cubic-metre-capacity LNG bunker barge.

The news followed the recent arrival of Shell's LNG bunker vessel Cardissa in Rotterdam on August 10.

Owned by Shell Western LNG B.V. and co-financed by the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the Cardissa will be used to perform deliveries to customers in northwest Europe, sourcing product from the Gas Access to Europe (Gate) terminal in Rotterdam. It is able to transport up to 6,500 cbm of LNG.

In June, this publication also reported that PitPoint.LNG's new LNG bunkering station in Cologne, Germany, is to be used to bunker LNG for inland dual-fuel barges chartered by Shell Western LNG B.V.