Wärtsilä gets PNE’s LNG bunker barge cargo tanks order

The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has taken delivery of four LNG cargo tanks from its Chinese supplier.

The company noted that the delivery will allow the installation of a complete cargo handling system to proceed on schedule. The system is intended for a new 5400-cbm LNG bunker barge being built at the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) yard in Wisconsin, USA. The LNG bunkering barge is being built for Polaris New Energy (PNE).

The four cargo tanks have internal piping, instruments, equipment and access structures. They also have 300-mm insulation and will be installed below deck on the bunkering barge; only the domes will be visible once completed.

Transportation to the yard has required detailed logistics planning. The tanks were moved by barge to Shanghai, where they were loaded onboard the heavy-lift vessel, the BBC Louise for transport to the USA.

After crossing the Pacific, the ship will pass through the Panama Canal and then head north along the USA’s eastern seaboard on its way via the St. Lawrence Seaway to the shipyard on Lake Michigan.

The ship is expected to arrive in late October as planned, which is in line with the yard’s schedule for delivering the barge to PNE end-2021.

The four cargo tanks are each 1350-cbm in size. The Polaris New Energy barge will be the largest vessel of its kind when launched, and will operate as a ‘moving gas station’ to supply LNG fueled vessels along the east coast of the USA.

The full Wärtsilä scope for this project includes, in addition to the tanks, the system design and integration, the LNG pumps, a ship-to-ship transfer system, ship to shore communication link, all necessary safety and control equipment, valves, instrumentation, and a gas combustion unit.