JAXPORT marks LNG bunkering milestone

JAX LNG and TOTE Services recently completed their first ship-to-ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering of a foreign-flagged vessel at the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT).

Crews loaded 1,800 cubic meters (450,000 gallons) of LNG from North America’s first LNG bunker barge, the Clean Jacksonville, to the LNG-powered vehicle carrier, Siem Confucius, at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal.

In preparation for the bunkering, JAX LNG worked with TOTE Services to utilize the Clean Jacksonville while also gaining acceptance from the U.S. Coast Guard to perform the bunkering during all potential cargo loading conditions.

After loading at the JAX LNG facility, the Clean Jacksonville maneuvered alongside Siem Confucius to perform the milestone fuel transfer, JAXPORT said in its statement.

The 7,500-car-capacity Siem Confucius and its sister ship, Siem Aristotle, are Liberian-Registered and regularly call on JAXPORT to unload factory-new Volkswagen Group of America cars and SUVs.

TOTE Services operates the Clean Jacksonville and has successfully performed more than 150 bunkering operations for TOTE’s Marlin class vessels, the world’s first LNG-powered container ships.