ZIM and Shell complete first LNG bunkering in Jamaica

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. and Shell International Petroleum Company Limited announced the successful bunkering of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the container ship ZIM SAMMY OFER, marking the first LNG bunkering operation in Jamaican waters. The ship was bunkered at Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) on 26 March 2023.

The ZIM SAMMY OFER is the first of a series of ten 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships that ZIM intends to deploy on its ZCP trade route. For these vessels, ZIM recently signed a 10-year marine LNG sale and purchase agreement with Shell.

David Arbel, ZIM’s EVP COO, said: “This is the first vessel in our growing LNG-powered fleet, which will enable ZIM to be more carbon and cost-efficient, thereby improving our competitive position, particularly in strategic trade from Asia to USEC, and customers can reduce their carbon footprint.”

Equipped with ME-GI (M-Type, Electronically Controlled Gas Injection) two-stroke engines, ZIM’s LNG dual-fuel vessels have negligible methane slip of around 0.2%, a testament to ZIM’s commitment to decarbonizing its fleet.

Tahir Faruqui, General Manager, Head of Downstream LNG at Shell, said: “This groundbreaking bunkering, safely completed in collaboration with ZIM and the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, extends our LNG bunkering network to the Caribbean. With each new bunker site added to our footprint, we are demonstrating LNG as the lowest carbon fuel available at scale today and enabling the shipping sector to start decarbonizing. Kingston, Jamaica is a new LNG bunkering site for Shell, expanding its global LNG bunkering network to 16 sites in 11 countries. To date, Shell has performed over 1,000 safe ship-to-ship bunkering operations for its customers.”