Clean Canaveral performs inaugural LNG bunkering in Florida

The Clean Canaveral liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge has completed its inaugural bunkering in Jacksonville, Florida, in the first barge-to-ship cool down operation performed in the U.S.

Said to be the largest Jones Act LNG bunker barge, the Clean Canaveral has a capacity of 5,500 cubic metres and operates as an articulated tug-barge unit (ATB) along the coast of the southeastern U.S.

It is owned by Polaris New Energy, a subsidiary of Seaside LNG Holding, which took delivery of the vessel on 3 December 2021.

As part of the inaugural bunkering, LNG was loaded on the Clean Canaveral at the Jacksonville dock of JAX LNG. The vessel then transferred approximately 600 metric tons of LNG to cool-down and bunker the AET-owned Eagle Brasilia tanker.

“As expected, the Clean Canaveral performed very well during the bunkering process. The McAllister Towing crew operating the ATB, our vendors, regulatory agencies, JAXPORT and Polaris worked seamlessly together to ensure we were prepared for successful bunkering”, said Tom Sullivan, senior vice president of Operations for Seaside.

“In addition, the working relationship between AET, its ship-manager, Eaglestar, and the crew on the ATB was key to the safe transfer of LNG. We greatly appreciate AET’s confidence in our ability to safely conduct this inaugural bunkering.”

John Lindquist, GAC Bunker Fuels’ head of LNG Bunkering, added: “AET has invested in dual-fuel shipping. With their support, GAC demonstrates our journey to decarbonisation with LNG, upholding our commitment to zero oil-based bunker sales by 1 January 2030 and fulfilling our goals, which are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Getting to Zero Coalition. We thank JAX LNG, Polaris New Energy and its partners for executing a safe operation, while we explore more ways to serve the United States southeast region with the Clean Canaveral.”

Clean Canaveral is the first out of the two LNG bunkering barges constructed by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding for Polaris. A complete LNG cargo storage and handling system for both vessels are provided by Wärtsilä.

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