Wärtsilä Gas Solutions is to supply the cargo handling system for a new 12,500-cubic-metre LNG bunkering vessel being built for Spanish shipowner Scale Gas, a subsidiary of Enagás, the owner and operator of Spain's gas grid.

The vessel is co-financed via the Support for Sustainable and Digital Transport Programme, which is part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan from the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.

The order was placed by the yard building the vessel, Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering, and was booked by Wärtsilä during the first quarter of 2024.

According to Wärtsilä, the company's ability to engineer, design and deliver a complete system, including the boil-off gas (BOG) management, integrated fuel supply, custody transfer and bunkering transfer systems, was central to the contract award.

"The number of LNG-fuelled vessels continues to increase, which in turn means that more LNG bunkering ships are needed. We are the leader in this segment for both ship and tank building, Wärtsilä's experience and track-record is recognized, so we select them for this project," said David Wei, Director of Purchase Department, CIMC SOE.

Harald Øverland, Sales Manager, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, commented: "The trend towards LNG represents the industry’s transition to greater environmental sustainability, and we are extremely pleased to support this with modern and reliable systems that optimise overall cargo handling efficiency."

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled to be delivered to the yard during the second quarter of 2025.