BPCL said on Monday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Adani Vizhinjam Private Port to initiate the LNG bunkering project at the Vizhinjam port.
“Strategically located on the East–West global shipping corridor, this milestone positions Vizhinjam Port as a key LNG refueling hub for international vessels — furthering India’s sustainable maritime journey in line with IMO decarbonization goals,” BPCL said.
The firm did not provide further details regarding the project.
BPCL is one of the joint venture partners in Petronet LNG, India’s largest LNG importer, along with GAIL, IOCL, and ONGC.
Petronet operates the Kochi and the Dahej LNG terminals.
Last month, Petronet launched a tender inviting contractors to submit bids for the engineering, supply, installation, and commissioning of an LNG bunkering system at its Kochi import terminal in southern Kerala state.
Petronet already offers terminal-to-ship LNG bunkering services at its Kochi facility.
The global LNG bunkering market continues to rise as the global fleet of LNG bunkering vessels expands.
It is worth mentioning here that French shipping giant CMA CGM, one of the world’s largest backers of LNG fuel, recently signed a letter of intent with India’s Cochin Shipyard to build LNG-powered feeder container vessels.
The state-owned shipbuilder bagged a “mega” order for the design and construction of six feeder container vessels, each with a capacity of approximately 1,700 TEU.
The order is worth more than 20 billion rupees ($225.2 million).
CMA CGM is the first international shipping company to order LNG-fueled container vessels built in India.
DNV’s latest data shows that there are now 790 LNG-powered ships in operation and 631 LNG-fueled vessels on order.
Moreover, 209 LNG-powered containerships are in operation, while LNG-powered containerships account for a big part of the orders with 357 units.
