Damen Yichang Shipyard in China has held a keel-laying ceremony for an LNG bunker vessel for Elenger, a new energy brand formerly known as Eesti Gas.

Damen said on Tuesday that the keel-laying was held following a steel-cutting ceremony in March this year.

With a 6,000-cbm capacity, the new vessel will play a role in facilitating the adoption of LNG by providing an efficient ship-to-ship distribution service for all kinds of LNG vessels in the Baltic region.

The company added that the ship would arrive in Estonia next summer following sea trials in the spring of 2020 and would start serving LNG clients in the autumn, carrying out bunker activities at designated locations both in and outside ports.

Elenger currently uses road tankers to refuel Tallink’s LNG-powered Megastar ferry, which operates between Tallinn and Helsinki.

To remind, Elenger, under its old name Eesti Gas, ordered the vessel from Damen back in October 2018.

As for technical specifications, the 99.8-meter-long LNG bunkering vessel will feature dual-fuel engines and ice class 1A, according to the Finnish-Swedish ice-class regulations. This will allow the vessel to operate all year round, including in the region’s challenging ice conditions.

The two type-C LNG tanks that will be installed onboard the vessel will be partially exposed, which ensures good access and easy upgrade options as the LNG consumer market develops, Eesti Gaas said.