The unit of Crowley Maritime is to design the LNG bunker barges for Houston-based LNG America. The vessels are expected to be delivered by late 2015 with an initial capacity of 3,000 cu m of LNG.
Jensen said the bunker barges would serve the dual purpose of moving LNG from LNG America’s Louisiana supply source to coastal-based storage and distribution terminals and in directly bunkering large ships. They would be the first LNG bunker barges to operate in US waters.
“The significance of this agreement is not only incredible news for the marine industry, which struggles with whether to develop LNG infrastructure or vessels first, but also for companies along the US Gulf that hope to replace their traditional vessels with cleaner, more efficient LNG-powered ones,” said Johan Sperling, vice president of Jensen.
Although there is increasing interest in LNG bunkering its adoption is still seen as facing a “chicken and egg” situation of owners being unwilling to order vessels before supply infrastructure is built and vice versa.
“LNG America sees the demand for marine LNG to be robust as long as LNG can be made available to the maritime industry on a reliable, dependable and cost-competitive basis,” said Keith Mayer, ceo of LNG America.
Crowley Maritime recently ordered two LNG-powered container roll-on/roll-off vessels for the US – Peurto Rico trades.
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