VESSEL REVIEW | Xiangnengyuan 2 – Inland LNG bunker barge to be operated in China's Dongting Lake

China's Hunan Jinhang Shipbuilding recently handed over a new non-self-propelled LNG bunkering barge ordered by local company Hunan Xiangshui Kunlun Hongyuan Natural Gas.

Xiangnengyuan 2 (湘能源二号; “Xiang Energy No 2”) is classed by China Classification Society and will be operated in Dongting Lake, providing LNG bunkering services for other vessels.

Year-round bunkering capability

The LNG cargo tanks have a combined capacity of 500 cubic metres (18,000 cubic feet). Bunkering of LNG can be done via ship-to-ship transfer or by steel bridge to shore tanks for later use by other vessels. This enables the barge to continue to supply LNG under a range of weather and sea conditions.

The barge itself is also powered by LNG, which is fed into the onboard generators for use by the various systems.

Helping promote low-emission inland shipping in southern China

Xiangnengyuan 2 is the second LNG bunkering barge to be operated in Hunan Province after Xiangnengyuan 1, which has a slightly lower LNG cargo capacity. As part of a key project demonstrating the viability of a green water transport network in Hunan, the ship will further improve the LNG bunkering network connecting the Xiangjiang River and Dongting Lake to the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The broader objective of the project is to facilitate the widespread adoption of LNG and other low-emission marine fuels by inland vessels operating in the province.

Xiangnengyuan 2 has already begun providing LNG bunkering services. The first bunkering operation was completed with the supply of LNG fuel to the inland container vessel Xiangshuiyun No 27.