World’s Largest LNG Bunkering Vessel Christened

On February 8, 2019, the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel Kairos was officially christened in the port of Hamburg. 

The ceremony took place at the Hamburg Cruise Center Steinwerder, with more than 250 guests witnessing the christening of the vessel by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Federal Chairman of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU). With the words, “May god bless her and all who sail on her,” Kramp-Karrenbauer wished the ship always a safe journey and a hand-span of water under the keel.

Mahinde Abeynaike, CEO of Nauticor, underlined the importance of achieving this important milestone: “The christening of Kairos today here in Hamburg is the result of several years of thorough preparation by Nauticor’s team and its partners. With the commissioning of the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel, the availability of LNG as fuel for shipping on a large-scale basis is secured, e.g. in the Baltic Sea. With shipping companies having access to a fuel that is not only financially attractive, but also environmentally sustainable, people and nature in Northwest Europe will benefit from a substantial reduction of emissions at sea and in port.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer agreed and pointed out the significance of this project: “The commissioning of this vessel is not only important for the German shipping industry, but addressing environmental concerns in general and the global move towards more sustainable transport modes at sea.”

Nauticor chartered the Kairos via the joint venture Blue LNG, where Nauticor has a 90 percent share and Lithuanian energy infrastructure provider KN (Klaipedos Nafta) has a 10 percent share, from the owner Babock Schulte Energy.

With a tank capacity of 7,500m³, Kairos is the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel. The ice class vessel has several other unique features, including the ballast-free design and installation of a CNG tank to store vapor return gas from customer vessels. The construction of the vessel started in 2016 and in February 2018, steel cutting took place at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Ulsan, South Korea, from where the vessel was delivered in October 2018.