South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with SeaOne Caribbean, part of the US-based technology company SeaOne Holdings, for the construction of twelve articulated tug/barge (AT/B) marine vessels.
The deal was inked at a ceremony held on May 19.
Featuring SeaOne’s patented CGL® technology and systems that include the CGL containment system, the 260-meter-long vessels will be “the world’s largest and most powerful” AT/Bs and will operate in the Caribbean and Central American regions, SeaOne said.
As informed, the vessels will be used to transport and deliver a compressed gas liquid (CGL) cargo to clients in support of the SeaOne Caribbean Fuels Supply Project. To meet cargo delivery requirements, the AT/Bs will be fitted with IMO Tier III diesel engines sized to attain a service speed of over 14 knots.
“SeaOne has been working with SHI for a while now and we have found them to be a proactive company that listens to new ideas in the gas and liquids transportation business and provides constructive input into the design of the CGL transportation vessels. We are pleased to have SHI as part of the project,” Bruce Hall, President and COO for SeaOne , commented.
The CGL containment system is treated as an independent cargo and is not integral to the vessel design. The AT/B cargo holds will be kept at a temperature minus 40ºF/C while the containment system is full resulting in no sloshing or boil off and no retention of a gas blanket after offloading of the cargo, according to SeaOne.
Designed by Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering Corp., the newbuildings will fly the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The American Bureau of Shipping, a classification society, has worked with the company to help ensure the vessels will comply with the required standards of construction and safe operation.
The company’s Caribbean Fuels Supply Project is being undertaken to develop an environmentally-friendly, lowest cost, and safe means of transporting gas and gas liquids together as a single cargo.
“This is certainly an industry game-changer. This project will provide to the region, for the first time, the lowest cost of fuel while reducing emissions substantially,” Forrest Hoglund, Chairman and CEO of SeaOne , noted.