U.S.-based NorthStar Midstream has contracted compatriot shipbuilder Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding to build an LNG bunker barge for operations along the country’s East Coast.
The 5,400 cbm barge will operate as an articulated tug and barge unit that will initially provide LNG bunkering solutions to NorthStar’s customers in the area.
To be fitted with four 1,350 CBM IMO Type C tanks, the unit will utilize a cargo handling system designed and developed by Finland-based Wärtsilä. The ABS classed vessel will be 103 meters long, and will have a depth of 10 meters.
Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding informed that the contract contains options for two additional barges.
“We see increased domestic industries looking to LNG as their future fuel source, and we are extremely excited to be on the forefront of LNG domestic marine transportation,” Tim Casey, Executive President of LNG for NorthStar Midstream, said.
Additionally, NorthStar Midstream has established Polaris New Energy (PNE) to focus on the transportation and distribution of LNG along the coastal and inland waterways of the United States.
PNE will be sourcing LNG from JAX LNG, a new LNG production facility in Jacksonville, Florida, created through a partnership between NorthStar and Pivotal LNG.
JAX LNG previously received U.S. Coast Guard approval to conduct ship-to-ship LNG bunkering with TOTE Maritime’s Marlin Class ships and the LNG barge, Clean Jacksonville.