Clean Marine Energy (CME) said on Thursday that the LNG bunker barge, currently being built at Conrad Shipyard in Orange, Texas is scheduled to be launched in February next year.
The LNG barge is being built for WesPac Midstream and Clean Marine Energy.
The hull construction on the 2,200 m3 barge is almost complete and abrasive blasting and painting works are expected to start in the coming weeks, according to a statement by CME.
“ The LNG Mark III Flex cargo containment system, designed by France’s Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT), is scheduled to be installed immediately following the February launch, ” CME said.
The vessel was designed by Bristol Harbor Group and classed by US-based classification society ABS.
According to CME, “North America’s First LNG bunker barge” will be delivered to Jacksonville, Florida in the 3rd 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 for TOTE, arrived in Jacksonville in early December and is currently operating a liner service to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Her sister ship, the Perla Del Caribe, is expected to enter service in the second half of February 2016.
CME partnered with WesPac Midstream, and together with Pivotal LNG, a unit of AGL Resources, will own and operate JAX LNG, a small-scale liquefaction facility in the port of Jacksonville.
The plant is expected to be commissioned during the first quarter of 2017. It will supply LNG to locations around the Florida and Georgia coasts.
LNG World News Staff