Totem Ocean, Keppel sign LNG conversion deal

Totem Ocean Trailer Express has signed a contract with Keppel Offshore & Marine’s unit Keppel Shipyard for the conversion of the Midnight Sun to dual fuel LNG propulsion. 

This is the world’s first major conversion of a large RO/RO vessel to LNG, Totem Ocean said in a statement.

The work will begin in December and is expected to be completed in 90 days.

Once complete, the Midnight Sun will emit fewer air and greenhouse gas emissions, reducing emissions of particulate matter by 91 percent, NOx by 100 percent, SOx by 90 percent and carbon dioxide by 35 percent, according to the statement.

Her sister ship, the North Star, is expected to be converted in the 2016/2017 time frame.

Totem Ocean is part of the TOTE and Saltchuk organization that will introduce the world’s first LNG-powered containership into the Puerto Rico trade later this year.

Puget Sound Energy, in partnership with Totem Ocean and the Port of Tacoma, has plans to construct an LNG liquefaction terminal at the Port that will serve Totem Ocean, residents of Puget Sound and the broader transportation industry in the Pacific Northwest. This facility is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2018.

In the short term, TOTE and its partner WesPac are building an LNG bunker barge to deliver fuel to the ships once converted.

Image: TOTE