The company’s CEO Johan Algell told TradeWinds he is hopeful of signing deals within six months.

White Smoke has teamed up with the Delta Marine and Omega Marine yards to develop the WS3, a 2,500–dwt vessel which runs on both LNG and oil products.

The vessel can carry 2,800 cbm of gas and is targeted at the northern European and Baltic market.

Algell said: “We are ready to push the button.”

But contracts depend on firm charters from LNG suppliers, he added.

The yards will be able to deliver vessels for the start of 2015.

Algell said it was hard to earn money in the conventional oil bunkering market, so the company looked at moving into the growing LNG fuel sector.

“We went into the market early, maybe you could say too early, but we are still around,” he added.

Algell also revealed White Smoke and its partners are developing a new bigger design to handle between 4,500 cbm and 5,000 cbm, could be built in the first half of 2015.

Sweden’s Frederiet and Crew Chart Ship Management are also involved in the project.