TOTE Shipholdings and Sea Star Line signed a deal on the charter of the two new Marlin Class vessels being built at NASSCO in San Diego, CA.
The new Marlin Class ships will be the first liquefied natural gas powered containerships in the world and will almost double the cargo capacity available to Puerto Rico each week. These will be the first ships with fifty three foot container capacity under deck expanding the services that Sea Star Line is able to offer its customers. The ships will also allow Sea Star Line more cargo flexibility to meet the ever changing needs of Puerto Rico.
The Marlin Class vessels lead the way in environmental responsibility. ” Improved technology and the use of LNG result in tremendous emissions reductions, ” noted Ben Christian, Project Manager at TOTE Shipholdings . “ The new Marlin Class will reduce particulate matter by 98 percent, sulfur oxide emissions by 97 percent, carbon dioxide emissions by 72 percent and nitrous oxide emissions by 60 percent. ”
The first of the two ships, Hull 495, will enter the Puerto Rico trade in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the second ship, Hull 496, will enter the trade in the first quarter of 2016.