A unit of energy giant Shell has completed the first ship-to-ship bunkering operation using Q-LNG’s newbuild barge.
To remind, Shell welcomed the Q-LNG 4000 as part of a long-term charter contract two weeks ago following delivery at the VT Halter Marine yard in Pascagoula.
The first offshore LNG articulated tug and barge in America then sailed to the Port of Jacksonville in Florida where Shell completed the first bunkering operation supplying LNG to a Siem-owned car carrier.
“We can confirm that the LNG bunker vessel, Q-LNG 4000, under charter to Shell North America LNG, completed its first bunkering of the SIEM vessel Aristotle in the Port of Jacksonville, FL this week,” a Shell spokesperson told LNG Prime.
Siem Aristotle is the second LNG-powered car carrier Germany’s Volkswagen Group charters from Siem. The vessel is on its maiden voyage from Germany’s Emden to North America.
LNG Prime reported on this development early January.
The German giant uses two LNG-powered sister ships on the trans-Atlantic route, so-called America Round Tour, from Emden to Mexico, and Shell will fuel both of them with the new ATB once in the US.
In addition to these car carriers, the barge will also fuel Carnival Cruise Line’s two newbuilds.
But this will not happen any time soon as the first vessel Mardi Gras is still located in Barcelona and Carnival delayed its debut again to May due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Carnival took delivery of this newbuild at Finland’s Meyer Turku in December after the vessel bunkered LNG in Rotterdam, also by a Shell-chartered vessel, and then sailed to Barcelona.
In addition, Meyer Turku recently started building the sister vessel as well but this vessel should start sailing from Port Miami in November 2022.
