US privately-owned firm Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport (Q-LNG) is to take delivery of its first newbuild vessel from shipbuilder VT Halter Marine.
The New Orleans-based company, owned by Harvey Gulf International Marine’s CEO Shane Guidry, expects to take delivery of the Q-LNG 4000 LNG ATB within a few weeks.
Once in service, the 4000-cbm ship will become the first offshore LNG articulated tug and barge in America.
It is essentially an LNG bunkering vessel but it can be used a small-scale carrier as well.
VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula launched the vessel back in October.
The vessel is under a long-time charter with a unit of the Hague-based LNG giant Shell that will use it mainly to bunker LNG-powered ships calling in the various ports in Florida.
These vessels include Carnival Cruise Line’s two newbuilds, and the Siem Car carrier duo chartered by Germany’s Volkswagen.
Worth mentioning here, Q-LNG has earlier this year secured an approval from US Coast Guard to move forward with construction on two variants of its design.
The designs, each for a 5,400-cbm and 8,000-cbm articulated tug and barge, are both variations of the current 4,000-cbm ATB design.