Høglund contributes to the conversion of Norway's first LNG bunkering vessel

Høglund has supplied systems and supported during the commissioning of what is now Norway’s first LNG bunkering unit following successful gas and sea trials. Once a conventional bunkering tanker known as Oslo Tank, the Bergen Tankers-owned vessel has been renamed Bergen LNG and will play a major role in setting the standard and establishing the infrastructure for Norway’s LNG shipping sector.

Høglund was responsible for the supply of the LNG Gas Handling System and the vessel’s Integrated Automation System (IAS), which includes essential Gas Control and Safety System. Høglund’s participation in the project involved the supply of an LNG Cargo System incorporating a single Shell type-C tank with a capacity of 850 m³ and a bunkering rate of 500 m³/h. Other hardware and automation solutions that were provided by Høglund to ensure safe and efficient vessel operations include cargo pumps, bunker manifolds, custody transfer system, a ship-to-ship transfer system, a cargo control and emergency shutdown (ESD) system, and ship-to-shore/ship-to-ship link systems to create the Automation System.

As part of this ambitious project, Høglund worked closely with its partners HB Hunte Engineering - which provided a 3D detail design of the Gas Piping System - and LNG Cargo Tank manufacturer Gas & Heat Spa. Westcon Shipyards, which was contracted by Bergen Tankers, carried out the conversion of the vessel, including the installation of the LNG Cargo System supplied by Høglund.

Closer to the completion of the project, Høglund’s team of highly skilled field service engineering professionals carried out a series of rigorous sea and gas trials of the installed equipment, collaborating with project partners Gasnor and classification society Bureau Veritas. The trials lasted for four consecutive days with hardly any downtime. After having been given the green light on both its mechanical and control equipment system, as well as its flow meters, the vessel is now already in operation.

Commenting on the success of the project, Philipp Ulrich, Høglund’s Senior Project Manager and project lead, said: “The Bergen LNG conversion was both a demanding but fascinating project that was progressed and finalised in extraordinarily adverse conditions. The sheer adaptability and resilience demonstrated by our engineering team, along with our technical expertise, are living proof that, at Høglund, we make systems work no matter the complexity of the commission or the adversity of the conditions.”

Ingemar Presthus, Technical Manager at Bergen Tankers added: “It’s fantastic to count on a partner like Høglund Marine Solutions for a project as complex as the Bergen LNG conversion, which will pave the way for LNG shipping’s infrastructure in Norway. We are very pleased to have witnessed the tenacity, expertise and technical proficiency of the Høglund team which has allowed for the successful progression of this conversion project at an incredibly challenging time, where disruptions to schedules and working conditions continuously threaten to jeopardise projects of this magnitude.”