LNG bunkering infrastructure is building out in North America and the wider region as more globally trading, dual-fuelled vessels start to hit the market.
This week, Seaside LNG took delivery of the Polaris New Energy-controlled, 5,500-cbm articulated tug barge newbuilding Clean Everglades at a naming ceremony at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in the US.
The Jones Act vessel, which is fitted with four 1,375-cbm, type-C cargo tanks, is a sister ship to the Clean Canaveral (built 2021). The Clean Canaveral has already undertaken 65 LNG bunkering deliveries.
Fincantieri vice president and general manager Jan Allman said the Clean Everglades, which comes with its tug Tortuga, was being delivered six weeks ahead of schedule.
Seaside chief executive Tim Casey said: “The delivery of the Clean Everglades gives us the ability to expand our LNG bunkering business to the Gulf of Mexico.”
Polaris New Energy is the bunkering arm of Seaside LNG and now claims the largest fleet of Jones Act-compliant bunkering vessels in the US. Apart from this latest newbuilding and its sister ship, these also include the 2,200-cbm Clean Jacksonville (built 2018) and tug Polaris.
This latest addition to the US LNG bunker vessel fleet comes as shipowner Crowley announced this week that it will be launching LNG bunkering services on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal.
Crowley said it is preparing to provide bunkering and related port solutions to vessels for LNG bunkering and cryogenic tank cooldown under what it said is the first permit issued by the Panama Maritime Authority for the provision of such services.
The company referenced “a potential start date in 2024”.
Those familiar with the waterway said the bulk of bunkering operations for vessels take place on the Pacific side, where there is a large, sheltered anchorage.
It is unclear, as yet, what LNGBV Crowley would use for its services or from where the company would source its LNG bunkers. The company is due to take delivery of a 12,000-cbm Jones Act barge newbuilding this year.
Crowley’s announcement follows a tie-up earlier this month between Canadian shipbuilder and repair company Seaspan and AES Corp, which said they would provide LNG bunkering services in markets within the region of AES’ Costa Norte LNG terminal at Colon on the eastern side of the Panama Canal.
Seaspan will provide its 7,600-cbm LNGBV to the new terminal, allowing them to offer LNG marine fuelling from the second half of 2024.
Crowley Shipping senior vice president and general manager James Fowler said: “Crowley is strategically growing its LNG bunkering operations across North and Central America.
“The Panama Canal will become a key location for vessels to take on LNG, and Crowley’s future Panamanian bunkering service will give international ship owners confidence to continue to adopt LNG across their fleets.”
