Image credit: Kosan Crisplant

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Estonian bunker supplier Elenger, the recently launched international brand of Eesti Gaas, is claimed to have completed an LNG bunkering operation with four tank trailers in less than an hour and a half.

The delivery, performed at the Finnish port of Hanko on September 6, was the company's first four-trailer bunkering operation with a Y-piece - an attachment that allows the simultaneous delivery of LNG fuel via two tank trailers - developed by KC LNG, the LNG division of Kosan Crisplant.

In just one hour and 23 minutes, Elenger is said to have transferred 172 cubic metres of LNG to UECC's car carrier, the M/V Auto Energy, in "a world record bunkering time" via four tank trailers supplying two at a time.

Launched last year, the Y-piece is designed to make it possible to refuel a ship with LNG at twice the rate of normal truck-to-ship bunkering, thus slashing delivery times.

The attachment works as an adapter that splits a ship's fuel connection into two, enabling the transfer of fuel from double the number of tank trailers. But it is not only limited to two trailers: by adding a second Y-piece, the potential number of trucks simultaneously involved in the delivery process increases to four, thus cutting the bunkering time down to 25 percent.

The Y-piece is designed to fit any type of tank trailer. Furthermore, its shut-off valves and purging system make it possible to disconnect and change trailers during the filling operation, so bunkering never has to stop during the delivery process.

"The pay-off is a dramatic increase in bunkering efficiency and a lot of saved time and money for ship-owners and fuel suppliers," KC LNG said.