Pivotal Lng News

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge Clean Canaveral completed its first barge-to-ship bunkering of a cargo vessel at Port Canaveral’s South Cargo Berth 4. JAX LNG, along with Polaris New Energy, handled the LNG refueling of the Damia Desgagnés on the ship’s inaugural call to Port Canaveral. The asphalt/bitumen tanker Damia Desgagnés completed her discharge of cargo and then JAX LNG proceeded with Desgagnés’s first barge-to-ship bunkering of LNG. The seafarers safely transferred approximately 400 cubic meters of LNG from North America’s largest LNG bunker barge…

Seaside LNG announced the acquisition of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling barge the Clean Jacksonville from TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, LLC, a subsidiary of TOTE Group, LLC.Seaside LNG’s maritime transportation company, Polaris New Energy, has contracted to continue fueling TOTE’s Marlin Class LNG-powered containerships and other commercial customers with its fleet of LNG bunker barges. The Clean Jacksonville recently reached a significant milestone having successfully completed…

The Clean Canaveral, a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge operating along the coast of the southeastern United States, recently completed its inaugural bunkering in Jacksonville, Fla. The Clean Canaveral has a capacity of 5,500 cubic meters, making it the largest Jones Act LNG bunker barge. The vessel operates as an articulated tug barge unit (ATB) and is owned by Polaris New Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Seaside LNG Holdings.The operation marks the first barge-to-ship cool down performed in the United States.

JAX LNG, a small-scale LNG facility located along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Fla., recently completed the first fueling of a marine vessel in the United States with a blend of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable LNG (RLNG).JAX LNG loaded the RLNG/LNG blend into the Clean Jacksonville bunker barge to fuel the Isla Bella. The Isla Bella is the world’s first LNG-powered container ship and was put into service by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico in 2015. Element Markets supplied the renewable natural gas (RNG) used to produce the RLNG via renewable thermal certificates (RTCs).

NorthStar Midstream, a portfolio company of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., has announced the formation of Polaris New Energy (“PNE”), a marine transportation company focused on the transportation and distribution of liquefied natural gas (LNG) along the coastal and inland waterways of the United States.NorthStar has executed an agreement with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding to build a 5,400 cubic meter (CBM), with the ability to potentially construct two sister barges, for coastwise transportation of LNG.

The Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Natonal Center of Expertise, industry experts provide technical training for future LNG fueled vessel inspectors.The Coast Guard’s Liquefied Gas Carrier National Center of Expertise (LGC NCOE) partnered with Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville to coordinate a four-day “LNG as Fuel Workshop” Sept. 17-20, 2018, for future inspectors of LNG fueled vessels, with support from industry experts and the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Center.Together, this team of LNG as fuel specialists provided Coast Guard marine inspectors from across the U.S.

The advent of industry wide tightening of allowable sulfur emissions is getting nearer. Suddenly, with the deadline now little more than one year away, the countdown clock will very soon be ticking much louder. Simply stated, the cap on allowable sulfur content in marine fuels, presently at 3.5 percent in many geographical regions, will be reduced to 0.5 percent in January 2020. The 0.1 percent sulfur cap, already in effect since 2015 in coastal Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) in Europe and North America…

Crowley Fuels has announced that it has signed another multi-year supply contract with Pivotal LNG to support a major pharmaceutical company’s energy needs in Puerto Rico. The contract, executed through Crowley subsidiary Carib Energy (USA) LLC, calls for Crowley to transport LNG from Pivotal facilities on the mainland to the island manufacturer. With Crowley’s supply chain solution, LNG is loaded into Crowley’s 10,000-gallon international shipping organization (ISO) containers at one of Pivotal’s LNG supply sources in the southeastern U.S.

The joint venture between Pivotal LNG and Northstar Midstream, JAX LNG, LLC, has received a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for the operation of its waterfront LNG facility and the approval to conduct ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operations with TOTE Maritime’s Marlin Class ships and the LNG barge, Clean Jacksonville. The expectation is this ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation will commence early in 2018. In August 2015, JAX LNG and its partner TOTE…

JAX LNG said it has executed the remaining engineering and procurement contracts required to begin construction of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and storage facility at Dames Point near the Port of Jacksonville. The JAX LNG liquefaction facility is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2017. Once completed, it will be outfitted with a 2 million-gallon storage tank with the capacity to produce in excess of 120,000 gallons of LNG per day. JAX LNG’s Jacksonville plant will be North America’s first small-scale coastal LNG facility and will include marine distribution capabilities utilizing North America’s first LNG bunker barge, Clean Jacksonville. “The LNG industry is seeing a steady growth in demand,” said Tim Hermann, president of Pivotal LNG.

Pivotal LNG announced a multi-year agreement to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Carib Energy LLC, a Crowley Maritime Corp. subsidiary. Crowley will transport and deliver LNG from the U.S. mainland to its newest client, Molinos de Puerto Rico, a subsidiary of Ardent Mills LLC, the island’s leading supplier of flour as well as wheat, corn and rice-based food ingredients. “Crowley’s partnership with Pivotal LNG continues to help our customers meet their energy needs with cleaner, efficient fuel sources,” said Crowley Vice President Greg Buffington.

TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico Successfully Performs First LNG Bunkering at Jacksonville Port. On Saturday, January 9, 2016, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico successfully loaded LNG bunkers aboard the world’s first LNG powered containership, MV Isla Bella. Approximately 100,000 LNG gallons transported by 12 TOTE-owned LNG ISO containers were loaded on schedule. The bunkering was conducted under strict US Coast Guard oversight while Isla Bella was also undergoing cargo operations. The LNG was transferred from the ISO tank containers using a specially developed transfer skid developed by TOTE’s partner Applied Cryogenics Technologies (ACT) of Houston, Texas. The transfer skid is designed to allow four ISO tanks to be transferred to Isla Bella at once, dramatically reducing transfer time.

North America’s first LNG bunker barge is scheduled to be launched in February of 2016, Clean Marine Energy LLC (CME) announced following a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO) hosted tour at Conrad Shipyard in Orange, Texas. Roughly 200 industry partners participated in the tour in conjunction with the USCG Liquefied Gas Senior Executive Forum held at USCG Sector Houston on December 9. The 2,200 cubic meter barge hull construction is near complete and abrasive blasting and painting is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks.

Partnership represents the start of LNG adoption as a marine fuel in the United States. Pivotal LNG, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources Inc., and WesPac Midstream LLC have signed a long-term agreement with TOTE, Inc. to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel the company’s two new state-of-the-art containerships. Pivotal LNG and WesPac are constructing a new natural gas liquefaction facility in Jacksonville, Fla., addressing the growing demand for LNG in the southeast.

As Tote pioneers the use of natural gas as a marine fuel with two groundbreaking projects, Anthony Chiarello combines the strength and diversity of the Saltchuk group of companies with a forward-thinking, environmentally correct Tote business plan. As TOTE prepares to bring the world’s first natural gas-powered containerships to the maritime industry, the firm will also be the first to convert its existing fleet to run on natural gas. Two Orca Class vessels, operated by Totem Ocean Trailer Express (Totem Ocean) in the Alaska trade, will be converted with minimal time out of service and return as the most environmentally advanced ships in the nation.

Pivotal LNG, Inc., a subsidiary of AGL Resources, announced this week a long-term agreement to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Crowley Maritime Corp. subsidiary Carib Energy LLC (Carib). The LNG will be delivered to Puerto Rico. This is the first delivery of LNG for industrial customers in that U.S. territory. "We are pleased to work with Crowley to support industries in Puerto Rico with the delivery of cost-effective, emission-reducing LNG," said Stephen Cittadine, president of Pivotal. "Pivotal continues to expand its LNG portfolio, thereby reducing dependency on other petroleum products used by Puerto Rico as well as other U.S. Recently the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order to provide clarity around Pivotal’s methods of delivery of LNG from the U.S.

In his speech at the LNG Export & Export & Infrastructure Conference Federal Maritime Commissioner Doyle gives insights on the consequences of the adoption of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel in the United States. I am a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. The Federal Maritime Commission is an independent regulatory agency responsible for regulating the nation’s international ocean transportation for the benefit of exporters, importers, and the American consumer. I should emphasize that my thoughts and comments here are mine and mine alone – they do not reflect the position of the Commission, and they should not be construed to represent the positions of any of my fellow Commissioners.

Fireworks marked the first cut of steel in a ceremony last night as construction of TOTE, Inc.’s new Marlin Class, the first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered containership in the world, began at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, Calif. “These ships, will be the most advanced, environmentally progressive vessels of their kind,” state Representative Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation said, “but they also represent $350 million in U.S. The Marlin class vessels mark a new age in American shipbuilding.

Pivotal LNG, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources, and WesPac Midstream LLC announced they have been selected by TOTE, Inc. to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel TOTE’s two new state-of-the-art container ships in Jacksonville, Fla. TOTE’s new dual fuel LNG container ships are expected to be delivered to the port in Jacksonville in late 2015 and early 2016. To move forward on this project, Pivotal LNG, Inc., WesPac and TOTE have signed a letter of intent and are working toward definitive agreements. While there is still work to be done, Pivotal LNG, Inc.