Calcasieu Ship Channel News

Louisiana is set to launch a new ferry service with the help of a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).The DOT said on Monday its Build America Bureau will provide nearly $41 million in loans to the Louisiana State Bond Commission for the benefit of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) that will go toward the ferry project as well as a bridge improvement program.The Bureau, which was established during the Obama Administration…

Tthe Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced this week that it received an apparent low bid from Houma, La. based Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors for the construction of two new ferry boats for the Cameron crossing in Cameron Parish. The bid was $49,706,865.Designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, the new boats will be 190’ x 50’ x 13’ and will replace the M/V Cameron II, which was built in 1964. The boats will be end-loading vessels in order to load and unload large commercial vehicles.

Hurricane Nicholas on Tuesday took another swipe at U.S. Gulf Coast energy facilities, cutting offshore oil and gas output gradually recovering from the last storm and disrupting power to onshore pipeline, gas and chemical plants.Royal Dutch Shell halted production its Perdido offshore oil platform due to heavy winds, and U.S. liquefied natural gas producer Freeport LNG said processing at its Texas coast facility was halted, likely due to a power outage.Power losses briefly cut Colonial Pipeline's main gasoline and diesel lines out of Houston…

The first liquefied natural gas tanker to go to Cameron LNG's export plant in Louisiana since Hurricane Delta was set to arrive on Tuesday.Golar Seal was [on Tuesday] sailing up the Calcasieu Ship Channel on its way to Cameron, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data.The last vessel to go to Cameron was SK Audace on Oct. 4-5, according to the Refinitiv data. That tanker left before Hurricane Delta hit the coast near Cameron on Oct. 9.The U.S. Coast Guard said it will allow vessels with drafts less than 36 feet (11 meters) to transit the Calcasieu Channel as local and federal agencies clean up obstructions in the waterway following…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Wednesday that it may be able to clear enough debris from Hurricane Delta to open the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana to vessels drafting up to 30 feet (9.14 m) with restrictions by the end of the week.The Army Corps, however, said it does not have a timeline for restoration to full deep draft (40 feet) traffic.Analysts said a fully laden liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has a draft of around 40 feet.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Tuesday it has identified three obstructions from Hurricane Delta that have to be removed before it can reopen the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana to deep draft vessels.The Army Corps, however, said it needs more data before it can estimate how long it will take to dredge the channel.That channel allows tankers to access the Cameron liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant, the Lake Charles refineries owned by Citgo Petroleum Corp and…

LNG developer Venture Global LNG has said that its under-construction LNG project Calcasieu Pass LNG in Cameron, Louisiana has sustained "minimal impacts" from Hurricane Laura which made landfall early on Thursday in southwestern Louisiana as a category 4 storm.Venture Global LNG is building the 10 MTPA Calcasieu Pass facility at the intersection of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the Gulf of Mexico, that is expected to become operational in 2022.In a statement on Thursday, the…

An uninspected towing vessel taking on water has run aground in Louisiana’s Calcasieu Ship Channel, early Monday morning. At 3:45 a.m., the three-man crew aboard the 60-foot towing vessel Mr. Landon intentionally ran the vessel aground near Monkey Island to avoid sinking when they realized they were taking on water in the stern. No injuries were reported. Approximately 10 gallons of oil was spilled as a result of the incident. Clean up efforts were coordinated by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Lake Charles members…

An offshore supply vessel has run aground off the west Cameron Jetties in Louisiana, Wednesday morning. There were no injuries to the four passengers and three crew aboard the vessel, and no pollution was reported. The 120-foot offshore supply vessel Miss Lynda was carrying construction cargo and had 4,300 gallons of fuel and 100 gallons of oil products aboard at the time of the incident. The four passengers were transited off of the ship by the utility ship Sally D, while the three crew members remained on the Miss Lynda. U.S.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Martin Houston, Chairman of Live Oak LNG, has announced a new natural gas liquefaction and export project, up to a $2 billion investment, to be developed in the Calcasieu waterway. The $2 billion plant will be located on the Calcasieu Ship Channel and will create 100 direct jobs and 385 indirect jobs, the governor said. The permanent jobs will pay an average salary of about $75,000. About 1,000 construction workers will be hired. The mid-sized project is being designed for a plant capacity of up to five million tonnes per annum production and will include two 130,000 m3 storage tanks, and port facilities with a jetty for standard size liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

Sen. U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., a Senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced a $10 million grant for the Port of Lake Charles through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER Grant Program. Today’s grant will expand the Port’s Bulk Terminal. In April, Sen. Landrieu wrote a letter in support of funding the Port of Lake Charles. Today’s grant will create 1,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs at the Port. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Landrieu helped to secure $600 million in the FY14 Appropriations Act for the TIGER discretionary grant program despite strong opposition from the House of Representatives, which completely eliminated funding for this program.

Waller Marine, Inc., through its LNG development subsidiaries, Waller Energy Holdings, LLC and Waller LNG Services, LLC, (the Company) has initiated activities on its first natural gas liquefaction (LNG) facility to be constructed on a 175 acre site the Company has acquired at the entrance point of the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Cameron Parish in Southwest Louisiana. Using small-scale liquefaction technology, the Company plans to install nominal 500,000 gallon per day LNG trains in phases as the market and demand for marine LNG fuels inevitably expands.

Nichols Brothers Boatbuilders are building a highspeed catamaran ferry for San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation district. Designed by International Catamaran Designs (INCAT) of Sydney Australia, this will be Nichols Brothers 27th U.S. built highspeed catamaran. The vessel will be 139 ft. overall with a 34-ft. beam and draft of 9 ft. The individual hulls will have a beam of 9 ft.. A 37-knot speed is predicted with four 16-cylinder Cummins KTA50-M2 main engines delivering 1,600 hp each at 1800 rpm. Each IMO emission certified engine will drive a Hamilton model 571 water jet through a ZF Marine BU 460D marine gear. Electrical service will be provided by a 125 kW generator set powered by a Cummins Marine 6CT8.3DM engine.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved several new natural gas projects, including the construction of a new marine terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and expansion of a previously approved LNG project that will increase and enhance the energy infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The Commission approved a proposal by Corpus Christi LNG, L.P. and Cheniere Corpus Christi Pipeline Company to construct and operate a new LNG terminal and related pipeline facilities near Corpus Christi, Texas. The Commission also approved an amended proposal by Cameron LNG, LLC to expand its facilities in Hackberry, LA to receive larger LNG tankers at its terminal that is currently under construction.

The Lake Charles Pilots, which operates on the Calcasieu ship channel in southwestern Louisiana, has ordered its third pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. Delivery is scheduled for February 2008. According to Lake Charles pilot, Capt. Mike Miller, the new boat order was prompted by plans for more than 400 LNG tankers traveling to terminals on the Calcasieu River by 2008. “With all of this new traffic on the river, we wanted a stable boarding boat with a deep-V hull that can operate continuously to the outermost sea buoy, 30 miles off the coast. The sea conditions out there normally run three to five feet, but can often climb to ten feet,” he said. Featuring the C. Raymond Hunt-designed deep-V hull, the all-aluminum vessel measures 75.8 ft.

The Lake Charles Pilots, which operates on the Calcasieu ship channel in southwestern Louisiana, has ordered its third pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. Delivery is scheduled for February 2008. According to Lake Charles pilot, Capt. Mike Miller, the new boat order was prompted by plans for more than 400 LNG tankers traveling to terminals on the Calcasieu River by 2008. Featuring the C. Raymond Hunt-designed deep-V hull, the all-aluminum vessel measures 75.8 ft. overall, with a 20.6-ft. beam and a 6.8-ft. draft. At the shear is a heavy-duty, 12-inch D rubber fender in addition to tires. With a top speed of 27 knots, the boat will be powered by twin Cummins QSK38M diesel engines, each producing 1350 Bhp at 1900 rpm.

Global Industries will significantly expand its capacity to meet operators' deepwater and reel pipelay needs in the Gulf of Mexico this December with the opening of its 625-acre offshore construction headquarters in Carlyss, La. Chosen because of its location along the 40 ft. (12.1 m) deep Calcasieu Ship Channel - the site is capable of supporting Global's deepwater fleet - and includes a pipe assembly rack that measure more than half a mile long. As a result of this new facility, Global closed both its Houma and Lafayette, La. facilities in late October to consolidate its offshore operations in Carlyss.

An oil spill is contained June 21, near a crude oil tanker at the Clifton Ridge terminal along the Calcasieu River. The cause of the spill is under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and CITGO Petroleum Corporation. The CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office have established a Unified Command to manage the clean up and recovery of the oil spill in the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Lake Charles. Recovery efforts began Tuesday night after receiving reports of oil in the Calcasieu channel near CITGO's Clifton Ridge Terminal. The recovery operations represent an expansion of activity that began in response to heavy rainfall and partial flooding, which overwhelmed the CITGO's waste water storage tank area and dikes.

The Coast Guard opened the Intracoastal Waterway at Calcasieu River to all commercial traffic. The ICW remains closed to recreational traffic from the Calcasieu Lock to mile marker 242. A temporary Vessel Traffic Service, staffed by Coast Guard personnel and industry stakeholders, is coordinating commercial vessel traffic transiting the ICW. Approximately 20 miles of the Calcasieu Ship Channel remain closed due to the spread of oil from a spill at the CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex Tuesday. The Coast Guard has established a safety zone in this area and is enforcing it with patrol boats. The safety zone stretches from light 116, north of the Interstate 210 bridge, to light 56, south of Calcasieu "Big" Lake. Prien Lake and Moss Lake also remain closed.

The AP has reported that ships have been stranded, seafood sources threatened and the nation's oil reserve tapped as the result of 47,000 gallons of oil spilling into a southwestern Louisiana shipping channel, forcing its closure. The June 19 spill at a Citgo Petroleum Corp. refinery in Lake Charles forced the closure of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, a key lane for transporting petroleum in and out of the region's four refineries. About 11 miles of the channel remained closed Thursday. The entire 40 miles to the Gulf of Mexico had been closed. About 31,000 barrels had been cleaned up by Thursday, the Coast Guard said. A Citgo spokesman said the clean up was going well partly because a lack a wind kept oil patches in place and the dry, sunny weather was evaporating much of the oil.

In the Calcasieu Ship Channel, six vessels transited safely into the port and three are expected to transit outbound. The temporary Vessel Traffic Service staffed by Coast Guard personnel and industry stakeholders will control these movements. Contingency operational plans have been devised, as well as equipment and temporary dams placed in at risks areas, in the event of heavy rainfall in the area to counter any problems that may arise from such an event. All commercial docks have been cleared by the Coast Guard to receive vessels. “We’ve made outstanding progress the past few days in getting commercial traffic moving in the Intracostal Waterway and the Calcasieu Ship Channel,” said Coast Guard Captain Thomas Sparks, Captain of the Port of Lake Charles.

Rains delayed clean up crews working in the Calcasieu Ship Channel. Although clean up crews were temporarily forced out of the water by the rainfall and safety concerns, the amount of rain falling is actually helping the clean up operation in the long term. “The rain is flushing the oil out of the hard to reach shoreline areas back into the water. But with the clean boom we repositioned yesterday, that oil is going into our collection areas,” said Cmdr. Verne Gifford, Executive Officer of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur. A recreational boating safety zone is still in effect. The zone is to the entrance to the Bayou D’Inde (light 115) and the southern tip of Cypress Point development…

Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur is responding to the pollution threat and salvage of the 189-ft., U.S.-flagged towing vessel La Marie. The La Marie began taking on water when it struck a submerged object in the Gulf of Mexico, and later sank in the process of being towed to shallower water on Saturday. The Coast Guard is on scene to assist and monitor pollution abatement and clean-up efforts. Initial inspections of the vessel found that the vessel sank in about 40 feet of water, with about two feet of the La Marie remaining visible. The owner is working closely with the Coast Guard to contain and clean any oil that is discovered, and to conduct salvage operations to safely remove the vessel.