Singapore-based Sembcorp Marine and SeaOne Caribbean LLC (SeaOne) of Houston, Texas, have inked a letter of intent (LOI) for the design and construction of at least two large compressed gas liquid (CGL®) carriers.
These vessels are intended to be deployed for SeaOne’s Caribbean Fuels Supply Project.
Under the deal, Sembcorp Marine will provide the design for the neo-panamax CGL carriers based on SeaOne’s single gas and liquids cargo delivery requirements.
The design will incorporate proprietary ship component ideas from Sembcorp Marine subsidiary LMG Marin, a ship design house stationed in Europe.
Front-end engineering design (FEED) studies for the project are in progress.
“SeaOne has been working with Sembcorp Marine management and engineers for a while now. We have found them to be a proactive company that listens to new ideas in the gas and liquids marine transportation business and provides constructive inputs on the design of the large CGL transportation vessels,” SeaOne President and COO Dr. Bruce Hall said.
“The Caribbean Fuels Supply Project is certainly an industry game-changer ,” SeaOne Chairman and CEO Forrest Hoglund said.
“Supported by the Sembcorp Marine-built large CGL carriers, it will, for the first time, provide to the region the lowest cost of fuel while reducing emissions substantially. This will have a significant positive impact on current socio-economic benefits to the region.”
The 366m long, 2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) capacity carriers will be equipped with SeaOne’s patented CGL® technology and systems.
They will transport CGL cargos to receiving terminals in the Caribbean, Central, and South American regions, from a CGL production facility now under construction at the Port of Gulfport in Mississippi, USA.
As described, SeaOne CGL containment system operates independently within insulated cargo holds maintained at -40ºC, and is not integral to the vessel design. The containment system is 100% full in transit, not subject to sloshing and boil-off, and does not retain a gas blanket after the CGL cargo is offloaded.
The CGL carriers will run on IMO Tier III diesel engines with a maximum sailing speed of 20 knots. They will be ABS-classed and under the Marshall Islands flag, the shipbuilder said.