Image: Gasum

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Gasum has conducted its first ever ship-to-ship LNG bunker delivery involving a cruise vessel.

The operation took place at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, with Gasum's bunker tanker Coralius supplying LNG to the Carnival-owned Costa Smeralda.

The Coralius, which began operating in 2017, celebrated its 100th bunkering at the start of 2019. The bunker vessel mainly operates in the North Sea and the Skagerrak area, and also performed its first Rotterdam ship-to-ship LNG bunker delivery earlier this year.

"Coralius allows us to perform ship-to-ship bunkering to different types of vessels. We are happy that this now includes a cruise ship. It is always a proud moment when we can deliver our product and make maritime transportation cleaner," remarked Jacob Granqvist, Sales Director, LNG Marine, Gasum.

The Costa Smeralda is Costa Cruises' first LNG-powered ship and the first in a series of newbuild cruise vessels fitted with LNG propulsion at Meyer Turku. It has a gross tonnage in excess of 180,000 tonnes and is due to operate in the Western Mediterranean.

A second vessel, sister to Costa Smeralda, is slated for delivery in 2021.

The two new Costa Cruises ships will be powered by LNG both in port and on the open sea. LNG is stored in special tanks on board and used to generate 100 percent of the energy required for navigation and onboard services.

Both vessels also feature marine gas oil (MGO) tanks and will run on dual-fuel Caterpillar power with enough LNG capacity for a trans-Atlantic crossing.