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US LNG bunkering gears up for IMO 2020 sulphur cap
Following the implementation of the global sulphur cap, the first of several LNG bunker and transport vessels will soon enter service in the US southeast
Based in Port Canaveral, Florida, a new 4,000-m3 LNG bunker and transport articulated tug barge (ATB) will initially bunker four internationally flagged dual-fuel ships calling in the US in 2020. Under a 20-year long-term deal with Shell Trading (US), the ATB is owned by Houston-based Quality LNG Transport (Q-LNG). Shell will use the 4,000 m3 ATB to bunker Carnival Cruise Line’s two new 180,000-grt dual-fuel ships and two dual-fuel Siem Car Carrier pure car truck carriers (PCTCs) that are being chartered by the Volkswagen Group to transport vehicles from Europe to North America.
Siem Confucius, the first of the two PCTC newbuilds, was delivered by China’s Xiamen Shipyard in November. Sister vessel Siem Aristole is set for delivery in Q1 2020. The PCTCs will each have an overall length of 200 m, beam of 36 m, with capacities for 4,700 vehicles, and two 1,800-m3 LNG fuel tanks installed below deck.
Powered by LNG, the duo is the largest of their kind. Propulsion power for each is supplied by a MAN B&W S60ME-GI dual-fuel, two-stroke engine that delivers 12,600 kW with direct injection and exhaust-gas treatment to further reduce emissions. Each PCTC also has two 9L28/32DF and one 7L28/32DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines. The PCTCs will replace two conventional car carriers in Siem’s fleet, cutting CO2 emissions by 25%, NOx by 30%, particulate matter by 60% and SOx almost completely.
Under a 20-year contract, Shell will have access to 100% of LNG produced by the 10 small-scale liquefaction trains at the Elba Island LNG project in Savannah, Georgia, where the ATB will be loaded. Kinder Morgan, which has a 51% interest in the Elba Liquefaction Co, LLC, announced first commercial production from Train 1 in October. The first commercial LNG export cargo was loaded by the 159,800-m3 LNG carrier Maran Gas Lindos in December for an undisclosed location.
HGIM CEO controls Q-LNG
ATB owner Q-LNG, meanwhile, is now 100% controlled by Harvey Gulf International Marine (HGIM) chief executive Shane Guidry, following his purchase of HGIM’s 30% stake in the company.
In a statement, Mr Guidry said: “Q-LNG didn’t quite fit into Harvey’s core business and future. At Harvey, we are focused on growing globally, which we’ve done over the last 12 months. Today, we have vessels working in Mexico, Trinidad, Peru, Guyana, Suriname, USA and Nigeria.”
Mr Guidry said HGIM has plans to work in the Mediterranean and Angola in 2020. He added that he would continue to manage Q-LNG within HGIM, one of the leading US-based OSV owners. It was also a pioneer in the use of LNG as a fuel in the OSV market, with five dual-fuel platform supply vessels (PSV) in operation, and a sixth under construction. HGIM also built its own LNG bunkering facility in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to support its dual-fuel fleet of PSVs.
In November 2017, Mr Guidry’s Q-LNG contracted VT Halter Marine, Pascagoula, Mississippi for engineering services to complete the detailed functional design to develop and construct the LNG bunkering ATB. ATBs are fairly common in the US, consisting of a dedicated tug and barge designed with a notched stern and coupling system. ATBs transport liquid and dry bulk cargoes in US coastal and Great Lakes trades.
Propulsion for the ATB is supplied by the ATB tug Q-Ocean Service, which is equipped with EPA-compliant, Tier 4 GE 6L250 MDC main engines that produce a total of 5,100 hp and Z-drives. Q-Ocean Service has an overall length of 39 m, beam of 12.8 m and depth of 6.4 m.
Wärtsilä supplied LNG handling, automation, propulsion and bridge systems for the ATB, including main propulsion steerable thrusters and shaft lines on the tug. There will also be Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum dynamic positioning, navigation, communications and automation on the tug.
For the ATB barge, Wärtsilä supplied the LNG cargo storage, handling, and control systems, plus a bow thruster, automation, power management, and ballast water management systems.
Fitted with four 1,000-m3 IMO Type C cargo tanks, Q-LNG 4000 will have a capacity of 4,000 m3, with an overall length of 98.7 m, beam of 19.5 m and depth of 9.9 m. It is built to ABS class and compliance with the International Gas Carrier (IGC) code.
VT Halter Marine president and CEO Ron Baczkowski told LNG Shipping & Terminals that the Mississippi shipyard’s previous work building the two dual-fuelled container/roll-on/roll-off (ConRo) ships Taíno and El Coquí for Crowley Maritime was instrumental in formulating its winning bid to construct the Q-LNG bunker vessel. “We learned about the LNG supply chain, engineering, specialised materials and requirements,” said Mr Baczkowski. “We learned what it takes to perform an initial cool down and loading of the LNG tanks. That was a huge advantage when we bid on the Q-LNG ATB.”
Mr Baczkowski explained the cool down for the Crowley LNG-fuelled ConRos was a “major logistical challenge” at the shipyard. For the first Crowley vessel, the cool down and loading took 14 days to accomplish. “The second vessel took just four days,” he said, “demonstrating an example of the learning curve we have had with LNG.”
Other charterers are looking for LNG bunker vessels. Mr Baczkowski noted VT Halter Marine has responded to at least three tenders to build vessels, varying in capacity from 5,400- to 8,000-m3. All of the newbuilds would have two bilobe-shaped stainless-steel tanks. A letter of intent has been signed between Q-LNG and VT Halter Marine to build a second, larger ATB with an 8,000 m3 capacity, but has not yet been confirmed.
VT Halter is not the only US shipyard that has secured orders to construct LNG bunker vessels. The Orange, Texas shipyard of Conrad Industries built Clean Jacksonville, the first LNG bunker barge in the US. The inland, non-self-propelled barge, with a single GTT Mark III membrane tank with a capacity of 2,200 m3, refuels Tote Maritime’s two LNG-fuelled, 3,100-teu containerships, Isla Bella and Perla del Caribe, that operate in Jones Act service to San Juan, Puerto Rico from the Port of Jacksonville (Jaxport), Florida.
Clean Jacksonville is loaded at JAX LNG, a small-scale LNG facility that was constructed through a joint venture between Pivotal LNG and NorthStar Midstream. NorthStar Midstream has ordered a 5,400-m3 LNG bunker barge from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Designed by naval architectural and marine engineering firm Vard Marine, a Fincantieri company, the oceangoing LNG bunker barge will be part of an ATB unit. NorthStar Midstream’s marine transportation company Polaris New Energy will operate out of Florida for refuelling LNG-powered vessels, with delivery scheduled for November 2021. With an overall length of 104 m, beam of 20 m and depth of 9.9 m, the barge will have four 1,350-m3 IMO Type C tanks, and an LNG cargo handling system designed and developed by Wärtsilä.
LNG bunker vessels in US
| Vessel | Capacity | Owner | Shipyard | Status |
| Clean Jacksonville | 2,200 m3 | Tote Maritime | Conrad Industries | Operational |
| Q-LNG 4000/Q-Ocean Service | 4,000 m3 | Q-LNG Transport | VT Halter Marine | Delivery Apr 2020 |
| ATB ocean barge/ATB tug | 8,000 m3 | Q-LNG Transport | VT Halter Marine | Option |
| ATB ocean barge | 5,400 m3 | NorthStar Midstream | Fincantieri Bay Ship | Delivery Nov 2021 |
| ATB ocean barge | 5,400 m3 | NorthStar Midstream | Fincantieri Bay Ship | Option |
| ATB ocean barge | 5,400 m3 | NorthStar Midstream | Fincantieri Bay Ship | Option |
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