US LNG Bunker Barge Nearing Launch Date
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. The LNG Mark III Flex cargo containment system, designed by Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT), is scheduled to be installed immediately following the February launch. The Bristol Harbor Group designed and ABS classed vessel will be outfitted with the Conrad’s custom fabricated 20 meter bunker mast under GTT license which will enable the barge to service a wide variety of vessels. The barge will also be equipped with six DH Industries StirLNG-4 cryocoolers capable of handling 125 percent of the B.O.G. in addition to the many other systems specifically designed for this vessel’s LNG bunkering application to deliver the coldest LNG to the end user.
The barge is scheduled to be delivered to Jacksonville, Fla. in the third quarter of 2016 to service TOTE’s newbuild Marlin class container vessels and other LNG-powered vessels in and around the Port of Jacksonville and the Southeast. The Isla Bella, the first of two ships, arrived in Jacksonville in early December and is currently operating a liner service to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her sister, the Perla Del Caribe, is anticipated to enter service in the second half of February 2016.
CME is partnered with WesPac Midstream LLC and together with Pivotal LNG, a subsidiary of AGL Resources, will own and operate JAX LNG, a small scale liquefaction facility in the port of Jacksonville. The plant is planned to be commissioned during the first quarter of 2017 and will be capable of providing LNG to locations up and down the Florida and Georgia coasts.
