Carrier Code News

Bergen Tankers’ newly converted liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel—Norway's first—has recently entered service.The 49.25-meter vessel, Bergen LNG, is being operated by Gasnor (Shell) in the Bergen area and on the Norwegian west coast to supply the LNG-fueled passenger ships operated by Hurtigruten and Kystruten. Bergen LNG has completed several LNG bunkers for ships, and has distributed LNG to many industrial and land facilities in Norway, Bergen Tankers said.The 850…

Bunkering ports around the world have long used a variety of small tankers or tug and barge combinations to deliver fuel to visiting ships. Mostly this was heavy oil, but recently a new breed of bunkering vessels is emerging to deliver clean burning liquefied natural gas (LNG) to modern ships with dual-fuel capabilities.The fall of 2020 will see a new addition to this fleet servicing ships in Florida and the Caribbean. As an articulated tug barge (ATB) combination, the vessel will have a cargo capacity of 4,000 cubic meters of LNG.

America’s first offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) barge has been launched for owner Q-LNG Transport, Mississippi shipbuilder VT Halter Marine announced on Wednesday.The Q-LNG 4000 barge, designed to carry 4,000 cubic meters of LNG, with dimensions of 324’ x 64’ x 32’.6”, will be operated as part of an articulated tug and barge (ATB) unit designed to meet the requirements of American Bureau of Shipbuilding (ABS) and the International Gas Carrier code as an LNG bunkering barge.Its tug, the Q-Ocean Services, is scheduled to launch late October.

VT Halter Marine, Inc., a ST Engineering North America company, held a vessel naming ceremony for America’s first offshore Liquefied Natural Gas Articulated Tug and Barge (LNG ATB) unit.The Q-LNG 4000 (barge) and the Q-Ocean Services (tug) were officially named in a ceremony that included U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, along with Shane Guidry, CEO of Q-LNG, and Tom Vecchiolla, President and CEO of ST Engineering North America.Over the last four years…

Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport, LLC (“Q-LNG”) announced its further commitment to support the cruise line industry and its liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) marine fueling needs by executing a letter of intent (“LOI”) with VT Halter Marine, Inc. (“VT Halter”) to construct an 8,000m3 LNG Bunkering Vessel on speculation.CEO, Shane Guidry, commented, “With the past and recent announcements by major cruise lines to build and deliver LNG powered cruise ships to the U.S. market, Q-LNG is committed to deliver the safest, most cost effective solution to the cruise line industry.”This contract represents a continuation of Q-LNG’s commitment to developing LNG fueling infrastructure in North America.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), a maritime services provider, has launched an Advanced Cargo Information (ACI) department for Canadian ports following new regulations and procedures for cargo and vessel reporting by the CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency). Based in Montreal, Canada, the centralized ISS ACI department will offer expert guidance on all cargo and reporting requirements to shipowners or charterers with vessels arriving at Canadian ports. Services provided by the new ACI department will include assistance in obtaining a carrier code, advance manifesting for all Canadian Ports and, if required, conveyance reporting and arrival messaging. Several major carriers have already subscribed to the service.

With rising fuel costs and today’s global interest on emission reduction, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is considered a promising alternative fuel for all type of ships. In response to industry’s need for technical guidance for new construction and existing vessel conversion, leading class society ABS announced today the release of its Guide for Propulsion and Auxiliary Systems for Gas Fuelled Ships. The new ABS Guide, considered to be the most comprehensive available to the industry…

With rising fuel costs and today’s global interest on emission reduction, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is considered a promising alternative fuel for all type of ships. In response to industry’s need for technical guidance for new construction and existing vessel conversion, leading class society ABS announced today the release of its Guide for Propulsion and Auxiliary Systems for Gas Fuelled Ships. The new ABS Guide, considered to be the most comprehensive available to the industry…

Maersk Tankers, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) have agreed to collaborate on the design and risk assessment of tankers for shipping CO2. Maersk Tankers is already in a partnership with Maersk Oil and Finnish utilities Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), aimed at developing a joint carbon emissions abatement project in the area of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). “Shipping CO2 in tanker vessels is a cost effective and flexible way to get CO2 from power plants to offshore storage sites, which makes it a suitable solution for large CO2 emission sources such as coal-fired power plants, especially in the emerging phase of CCS.” says Anders Schulze, Head of CO2 Shipping in Maersk Tankers.

As the LNG industry continues to develop and grow, the need for effective training is greater than ever. The value of effective training is becoming more apparent in today’s maritime industry as new technology continues to develop and the true impact of the human element comes to be more fully understood. This is true in every sector of the industry, but nowhere is it more apparent than in the LNG sector – a sector in which both established players and new entrants are eager to come to grips with an industry on the cusp of a major transition. Interest in LNG is at an all-time high, while the ships themselves are entering onto the next stage of their evolution…

Lloyd’s Register has issued an Approval in Principle of GE Energy’s LM2500-based, gas turbine propulsion system for liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships. Gas turbine propulsion systems have been widely used on naval and cruise ships, but are new to LNG vessels. The Approval in Principle, issued through Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc, gives GE Energy a high level of confidence that the marine industry will embrace its gas turbine propulsion system design as a viable alternative to traditional propulsion methods for the next generation of large LNG tankers. Traditionally, LNG tankers have been powered by steam turbine engines, but as larger vessels are built to accommodate the growing demand for natural gas…