One of the world’s first dual-fuel VLCCs unveiled in South Korea

300,000dwt tanker, Eagle Valence

https://www.tankeroperator.com/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=12899 

AET, a leading owner and operator of maritime transportation assets and specialised services, named its newest vessel which is also one of the world’s first dual-fuel and amongst the most environmentally friendly VLCCs in the market.

It is the first of two dual-fuel VLCCs built for long-term charter to Chartering and Shipping Services SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of TotalEnergies SA, based on the agreement signed in April 2020.

The 300,000dwt tanker, Eagle Valence was unveiled at a virtual naming ceremony held at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) Shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.

Making the announcement, Capt. Rajalingam Subramaniam, President & CEO of AET and COO of MISC Berhad said:

“AET and TotalEnergies both have clear ambitions to decarbonise shipping and we pushed boundaries to move towards a lower carbon future when we collaborated to build two of the first dual-fuel VLCCs in 2020. I am very proud that we are now setting a new benchmark for the maritime industry with our state-of-the art Eagle Valence which is one of the first and amongst the most environmentally friendly VLCCs in the market. My sincere thanks to everyone from TotalEnergies, Samsung Heavy Industries, Bureau Veritas and colleagues in the MISC Group namely from Eaglestar and my team members in AET for this remarkable industry stewardship to significantly reduce carbon emissions.

As an early pioneer in dual-fuel vessels, AET continues to invest in technology and team up with like-minded partners such as TotalEnergies who share our goal to create a truly sustainable global trade network. And we won’t stop there and are doing what we can to be impactful and reduce our and our customers’ carbon footprint to contribute to a sustainable future for our planet. I urge everyone in the industry to action cleaner and greener, collaborate and partner, act now and not later.”

Eagle Valence’s sister vessel is currently under construction at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in South Korea and due to be delivered in the second quarter of the year. AET and Eaglestar site teams have been working closely together with the SHI team to ensure all health and safety precautions were in place to safeguard the construction and delivery of the vessels during the ongoing pandemic.

Both vessels represent a game changer in conventional energy shipping with a carbon footprint reduction that is contributing to AET’s aspiration to meet or exceed IMO’s 2030 Greenhouse Gas goals. The carbon reduction is achieved through a combination of the cutting-edge LNG dual-fuel technology, energy saving devices and innovative features.

Commenting at the naming ceremony, Mr Luc Gillet, Senior Vice President of TotalEnergies Shipping & Trading commented:

“We are very proud to welcome in our time chartered fleet this best-in-class LNG dual-fuel VLCC from our partner AET. This vessel will contribute to our Climate Ambition to get to Net Zero by 2050 together with society”.

Datuk Yee Yang Chien, President/Group CEO of MISC Berhad and Chairman of AET said:

“Our investment in dual-fuel vessels illustrates our commitment as the MISC Group, and in this instance through AET, to invest in solutions that contribute to the decarbonisation of the shipping sector over the long-term. We believe that LNG is the best fuel option available immediately for use whilst we continue our on-going efforts by leading, collaborating and contributing to other long-term initiatives which we hope will bring us closer to achieving a fully decarbonised sector.

With TotalEnergies, we share a common goal and commitment to decarbonisation and I’d like to thank them again for their confidence in AET. Our sustainability actions today will chart the pathway for a better tomorrow.”

AET has 11 LNG dual-fuel vessels in its fleet portfolio with three Aframaxes in operations in the Atlantic, one Aframax operating in the Pacific and two Dynamic Positioning Shuttle Tankers (DPSTs) operating in North and Barents Seas now being joined by the first VLCC. Another four dual-fuel VLCCs are at newbuilding stage to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

In addition to the naming of Eagle Valence, AET also took delivery of one more Suezmax Dynamic Positioning (DP2) Shuttle Tanker, bringing the number of DP shuttle tankers it operates globally to 13.