Asia Pacific’s first LNG bunkering for passenger cruise ships was successfully completed at Singapore Cruise Centre (SCC) on February 25, in an exercise involving TotalEnergies Marine Fuels and Silversea’s Silver Nova.
This marks a major milestone in Singapore’s sustainability goals for the tourism sector.
The LNG fuelling, delivered via bunker vessel Brassavola, was the culmination of months of detailed planning and coordination among multiple stakeholders to ensure strict compliance with industry safety standards. This enabled passenger movements and ship operations to continue smoothly throughout the bunkering.
SCC CEO Jacqueline Tan said: “We are excited with this development given the growing number of dual-fuel LNG-powered vessels in the cruise industry. When we learnt of Silver Nova’s intention to bunker LNG, we took swift action to collaborate with TotalEnergies in bringing all parties together.
“As this is the first LNG bunkering for passenger cruise ships in Singapore, we needed to ensure that we were operationally ready for it. There were stringent protocols to be complied with by all stakeholders, guided by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. This successful operation will pave the way for other LNG-powered cruise vessels to bunker at our HarbourFront Terminal.”
LNG can be used as a transition fuel that provides a practical and realistic solution to the global maritime sector as it moves to decarbonise in line with the International Maritime Organisation’s targets to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Louise Tricoire, TotalEnergies Senior Vice President, Aviation and Marine Fuels, commented: “This achievement underscores the maritime industry’s collective drive towards lower-emission solutions and the vital role of partnerships in accelerating the transition, and aligns with Singapore’s vision for a decarbonised maritime sector.”
The debut of LNG bunkering at SCC’s HarbourFront Terminal is an extension of the LNG bunkering services that have already been available in Singapore for harbourcraft and commercial vessels since 2016, and positions SCC to support LNG-powered passenger ships calling in the region.
