Titan and Sogestran launch LNG bunker ship

Titan Clean Fuels has secured a long-term charter for a new LNG bunkering vessel owned by France's Sogestran. The 6,000 cubic meter newbuild will provide Titan with dedicated ship-to-ship capacity in the western Mediterranean.

The vessel will be constructed at the Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering yard in China. According to the source report, a firm shipbuilding contract was signed last month. Titan and Sogestran jointly designed the ship to operate within the specific constraints of Mediterranean ports and LNG terminals.

Deployment and Operations

Titan stated it plans to deploy the vessel across the western Mediterranean. It will load LNG at several regional terminals. The company intends to supply both LNG and liquefied biomethane, known as bio-LNG, in major ports including Fos-Marseille, Barcelona, and Genoa.

The ship will also perform gas-up and cooldown services for LNG-fueled vessels. Its low-air-draft design is intended to allow direct bunkering of cruise ships without requiring an intermediate pontoon. The bunker vessel itself will be capable of running on LNG and bio-LNG. The length of the charter, shipbuilding price, and delivery date have not been disclosed.

Background of the Order

This charter provides commercial employment for an order that first emerged in June. At the Posidonia event, Sogestran signed a letter of intent with CIMC SOE for the 6,000 cubic meter vessel. That agreement was converted into a firm shipbuilding contract in August. At that time, the Chinese yard identified its customer only as a European owner.

Sogestran operates an established bunkering business in the region. The Le Havre-based group has supplied conventional marine fuels around Marseille, Spain, and Algeria for decades. Its LNG Shipping joint venture with Victrol already operates two LNG bunker barges chartered to Shell in northwest Europe.

Fleet Expansion Context

This new LNG vessel is part of a broader fleet renewal for Sogestran in southern France. As previously reported by Splash, Sogestran subsidiary Maritima has two 4,500 cubic meter ships under construction at China Merchants Industry Yangzhou Dingheng for Petroineos. These will replace three ageing units serving Fos, Marseille, and Toulon.

Titan has also been expanding its controlled bunker tonnage. Earlier this year, the company added the 8,000 cubic meter United LNG I on charter for operations across the Zeebrugge, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp range. That vessel joined two owned FlexFuelers and other chartered tonnage capable of handling LNG and bio-LNG.

The expansion moves Titan deeper into a Mediterranean market where it already supplies LNG and bio-LNG. Until now, it lacked the same dedicated vessel coverage it has built in northwest Europe. Parent company Molgas already has truck-to-ship and other downstream LNG distribution infrastructure in the region. The Sogestran vessel adds a dedicated ship-to-ship leg to that network.