American Patriot Holdings has launched invited seven US shipyards to vie to build a series of inland river container vessels as part of a marine highway project on the Mississippi River.
The investment firm said the request for proposals seeks pricing and delivery schedules for four vessels, which will be built under the Jones Act cabotage law, plus options for four more.
Bids are due in February, with a final construction award expected on 1 April.
The 1,864-teu vessels, which will be operated by subsidiary American Patriot Container Transport (APCT), are part of a feeder vessel project that will link Memphis by river to the planned Louisiana Gulf Gateway Terminal at the port of Plaquemines south of New Orleans.
American Patriot said it plans to run the vessels, which will have Wartsila dual-fuel engines, primarily on LNG. But it may adapt them to run on methanol or another fuel in the future.
"These vessels will be the most technologically-advanced vessels in US inland waterways, with numerous redundancies to ensure safe operations in all weather and river conditions including high and low water," said Joe Gehegan, an executive member of American Patriot.
Naviform Consulting and Research's hybrid design for the vessels will allow them to travel at twice the speed of current traffic on the Mississippi and its tributaries.
Classed by the American Bureau of Shipping, the vessels will feature a minimum-wake bow design and an exoskeleton hull structure aimed at keeping the vessels' lightweight tonnage low while maximising container payload.
The ships will be 595 feet (181 metres) long with a beam of 106 feet (32 metres). They will be fitted with dynamic positioning.
American Patriot said the ships will operate on a long-term contract timed with the start-up of Louisiana Gulf Gateway, which is being developed by Hawtex Development.
"Hawtex is excited for the opportunity the APH inland vessels will provide to a number of significant BCOs [beneficial cargo owners] up and down the inland waterways of the central United States," said Hawtex chief executive Jim Hurley.
The deal came after AP Moller-Maersk's APM Terminals signed up in November to operate Louisiana's newest container terminal, with the newbuildings adding to rail and road links.
The river vessels are seen as a way to draw Midwest shippers to Louisiana Gulf Gateway.
"Midwest shippers are feeling the significant impact of current supply chain failures, given their reliance on rail from the West Coast," said American Patriot executive member Bob McCormack.
"We expect to give them a more reliable and cost-effective supply alternative, and shippers are excited that the new logistic alternative has finally arrived."
