據海事新聞9月27日消息稱，必和必拓集團一位高管對路透表示，該公司正與三家公司就液化天然氣供應進行談判，為其計劃在西澳大利亞和中國之間運輸鐵礦石的五艘船提供燃料。

必和必拓負責海運和供應鏈的副總裁Rashpal Bhatti對路透表示，最初的8到10家公司將競爭在2022年到2027年期間向這家礦商交付超冷燃料，合同預計將于下個月授予。

本月早些時候，必和必拓向總部位于新加坡的東太平洋航運公司租用五艘液化天然氣燃料的紐卡斯爾型散貨船，目的是在其最大客戶中國的航線上減少逾30%的溫室氣體排放。

這五艘船每年可運載約1,000萬噸鐵礦石，約占必和必拓2.8億噸鐵礦石出口量的3.6%。

Bhatti稱，必和必拓將在這些船只下水后對其進行評估，然后再決定是否擴大其液化天然氣燃料船隊。

馬來西亞國家石油公司海運公司全球液化天然氣供應主管Mohd Rafe Mohamed Ramli說，目前在逾8萬艘注冊船舶中，只有不到400艘使用液化天然氣作為燃料。

必和必拓的Bhatti說：“我們的5艘船將占整個亞洲液化天然氣供應量的10%。這相當于全球液化天然氣燃料供應需求的1.5%。

曹海斌 摘譯自 海事新聞

原文如下：

BHP in Talks with for LNG Bunker Supply Contract

BHP Group is in talks with three companies for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel five ships it plans to use to transport iron ore between western Australia and China, a senior company executive told Reuters.

A contract is expected to be awarded next month after an initial 8 to 10 firms vied for delivery of the super-chilled fuel to the miner over 2022 to 2027, Rashpal Bhatti, BHP's vice president for maritime and supply chain excellence told Reuters.

BHP earlier this month awarded a tender to charter five LNG-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carriers to Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions on voyages to biggest customer China by more than 30%.

The five vessels will be able to carry about 10 million tonnes per year (tpy) of iron ore, or about 3.6% of BHP's 280 million tpy in exports.

BHP will assess the vessels once they are on the water before deciding whether to expand its LNG-fuelled fleet, Bhatti said.

Currently, less than 400 out more than 80,000 registered ships run on LNG as fuel source, according to Mohd Rafe Mohamed Ramli, head of global LNG bunkering at Petronas Marine.

"Our five vessels will make up 10% of all Asian (LNG) bunkering volumes. That equates to 1.5% of all global LNG bunkering requirements," BHP's Bhatti said.