Clean Jacksonville has performed its 300th LNG fuelling operation, making it one of the world’s busiest LNG bunker vessels. When it comes to decarbonisation, US shipowner TOTE has been a first mover on alternative fuels, backing its strategy with over US$500M in investments in new LNG assets, infrastructure and technology, reports Riviera.
World’s first inland bunker barge
One of its key investments was Clean Jacksonville, the world’s first LNG inland bunker barge, constructed with a Mark III Flex cargo containment system designed by GTT. With a capacity of 2,200 m3, Clean Jacksonville is small by today’s average LNG bunker vessel standards — about 70% of the global LNGBV fleet has a capacity of 5,000 m3 and above. While Clean Jacksonville may be diminutive in size, it has had a big impact on the LNG bunkering market since it went into service in 2018, blazing a regulatory trail for others to follow.
“As pioneers in this space, TOTE worked with the US Coast Guard to develop the regulatory framework that all Jones Act LNG vessels and LNG bunkering vessels use today,” said the spokesperson. “Guided by a rigorous safety culture and focus on continuous improvement, TOTE has helped lead the way in which LNG projects are designed, permitted, constructed, certified, and implemented.”
Clean Jacksonville was designed and engineered by the Bristol Harbor Group and built at Conrad Orange Shipyard in Orange, Texas.
Clean Jacksonville’s primary use is to refuel TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s 3,100-TEU LNG dual-fuelled container ships. Isla Bella, the first of these US-flag box ships, was built by NASSCO and delivered in 2015. NASSCO delivered sister vessel Perla Del Caribe in 2016. Both Marlin-class vessels operate in twice weekly, Jones Act service between Jacksonville, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Clean Jacksonville is also one of the world’s busiest LNG bunker vessels. In January, TOTE Services achieved a significant milestone, managing Clean Jacksonville’s 300th fueling operation at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal in Jacksonville, Florida, home to TOTE Services’ sister company, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico.
Carbon-neutrality pathway
Like all shipowners, TOTE’s environmental objectives include steering towards carbon neutrality over the next three decades. Data from SEA-LNG shows LNG as a fuel can reduce CO2 emissions by 23% on a well-to-wake basis, compared with HFO. TOTE’s own data shows substantial reductions in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. Compared with the previous generation El Yunque-class vessels, which operated on HFO, Marlin-class vessels using LNG reduce fuel consumption by 48% based on a metric tonne basis, while decreasing GHG emissions by 62%.
Houston-based Element Markets supplied the renewable natural gas biomethane, used to produce the RLNG via renewable thermal certificates (RTCs).
For this bunkering event, RTCs were matched to the physical LNG loaded into Clean Jacksonville to create the RLNG/LNG blended product. One of the challenges for shipping will be securing enough RLNG or bioLNG and at the right price to meet its needs.
Engine conversions
TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s sister company, TOTE Maritime Alaska, is also migrating its fleet to LNG fuel through a multi-phase engine retrofit project. TOTE Maritime Alaska operates two Orca-class roro vessels, Midnight Sun and North Star, in twice weekly service between the Port of Tacoma, Washington, and Anchorage, Alaska. One of these, Midnight Sun was bunkered for the first time with LNG in 2022. Originally built in the 2003 as diesel-electric ships, each had to undergo a multi-phase, multi-year conversion.
To operate on LNG as a fuel, each ship was retrofitted with two 1,100 m3 fuel tanks on the aft deck and associated piping and equipment and their MAN B&W main engines were converted. TOTE anticipates the conversions will virtually eliminate SOx emissions and particulate matter, while reducing NOx emissions by 90% and CO2 emissions by 35%.
LNG bunkering of the vessels is handled by Tacoma LNG at the Port of Tacoma. An Arctic series triple swivel assembly fuel marine loading arm from SVT is used to refuel the vessels. From the tanks, LNG will be sent to the gasification room, where waste heat will be used to convert the cryogenic liquid to a natural gas, which will fuel the ship’s 52.2 MW of engine power.
Puget LNG and GAC Bunker Fuels have signed an MOU to co-operate on the supply and sale of LNG as fuel from the Tacoma LNG terminal. This co-operation extends to the development of a new LNG bunker vessel.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: Riviera
