Fincantieri lays keel for NorthStar’s LNG bunkering barge

US-based Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding has recently started building an LNG bunkering barge for NorthStar Midstream’s unit Polaris New Energy.

The yard is a part of Fincantieri Marine Group, which is the US division of Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri.

To mark the official construction start of the vessel, the shipbuilder held a private keel-laying ceremony at its Sturgeon Bay shipyard in Wisconsin on June 25.

Fincantieri said it has carried out pre-fabrication works for several months prior to setting the vessels’ 55-ton module in place.

To remind, Oaktree Capital Management-backed Northstar formed Polaris and ordered the LNG bunkering barge last year.

The owners will name the 103 meters long ABS-classed vessel ‘Clean Canaveral’.

Once delivered, it will operate as an articulated tug and barge unit along the US East Coast.

Besides its bunkering capabilities, the unit can also be used as a small-scale LNG carrier.

It will source the fuel from JAX LNG, a production facility in Jacksonville, Florida created through a partnership between NorthStar and Pivotal.

The 5,400 cbm vessel will feature four Type C tanks and a cargo handling system by Finland’s Wartsila.

Fincantieri expects to complete the LNG bunkering barge in late 2021.