Mr. Wong Weng Sun, President & CEO of Sembcorp Marine,

Mr. Kenta Matsuzaka, Senior Managing Executive Officer of MOL,

Captain Segar, Assistant Chief Executive (Operations), Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore,

Distinguished guests and industry colleagues, 

Good afternoon

It is a pleasure to be here today to commemorate this special event. My wife, Pamela, and I are especially honoured to be part of the christening ceremony for the LNG Bunker Vessel. 

In the past year, the world has been in the grips of a volatile energy market which has seen oil hit a high of nearly US$124/bbl, while Asian LNG spot cargoes have been sold for as much as US$60/mmbtu.  With these high prices, we have witnessed more gas-to-oil switching and demand destruction.  Countries and companies have also placed more emphasis on energy availability and affordability than sustainability.  

Even as we deal with the effects of a disrupted market, we need to remain focused on developing a more sustainable and lower carbon footprint solution for marine transportation.  

Marine transport fuels is one of the harder to decarbonize areas but we need to begin on that journey. The IMO has set a pathway towards reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, 70% by 2050 and cut GHG emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels.  LNG bunkering will help the marine industry march towards that goal.

At Pavilion Energy, LNG bunkering was envisioned as a possibility in 2013.  Over the years, we have actively promoted LNG bunkering. In 2016, the MPA awarded Pavilion Energy a bunker license to help develop LNG bunkering infrastructure.  In the years since, PE was the first to do both truck to ship (TTS) and ship to ship (STS) bunkering operations in Southeast Asia. 

We have also been active in developing partnerships with like-minded partners.  In 2018, with Total Energies Marine Fuels, we entered into a logistics agreement to deliver LNG bunker on behalf of Total Energies to their customers in Singapore.  

With Finland’s Gasum, we are working on a global partnership that allows us to deliver fuels to our global customers in Singapore and Europe and more like-minded partners will join us in due course.    

Even as we progress our journey in LNG bunkering, we are looking at alternative fuels like ammonia, methanol and biodiesel.  These clean fuels are at an early stage of development, not unlike LNG for marine bunkering in 2013.  Pavilion Energy will together with global partners be actively participating in their development to help the marine sector de-carbonize.   

Today marks an important milestone for Pavilion Energy. In 2019, we committed to charter our first LNG Bunker Vessel, a 12,000m³ new build from MOL built by Sembcorp Marine in Singapore. This vessel uses the proven GTT membrane technology and has a re-liquefaction unit on board for more efficient boil-off gas management, cutting wastage and reduce GHG emissions.  

We want to thank the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore for their vision and support to prepare Singapore to be LNG bunker ready. Aside from establishing a framework to promote safe and transparent LNG bunkering operations under TR 56, the MPA also pledged a S$12 million support fund for the building of LNG-fueled vessels.

We wish to extend our heartiest congratulations to Sembcorp Marine and MOL for having the built the first-of-its-kind LNG bunker vessel in Singapore. Hats off too to the project team! You have demonstrated resilience and battled the global supply chain disruptions to deliver this vessel. Despite the challenges, you have persevered and received the Workplace Safety and Health Council’s SHARP award in August 2022, recognizing your good Safety and Health performance for this project. 

We hope to do everyone involved in the project proud by using the vessel well, to deliver lower carbon fuels to the marine vessels calling in Singapore and help the marine sector de-carbonize. Let us all do our part for a better environment for future generations.

Thank you.