Puget Energy’s LNG unit, the developer of the Tacoma facility, and a subsidiary of GAC have joined forces to set up a bunkering chain in the port, including the construction of a supply barge.
In that regard, Puget LNG and GAC Bunker Fuels have signed a memorandum of understanding, according to a joint statement on Tuesday.
The two firms aim to cooperate in the supply and sale of LNG marine fuel from the terminal under construction in the Port of Tacoma to GAC’s customers in the Pacific Northwest.
Besides a jetty, the $310 million terminal will have a liquefaction capacity of 225,000 gallons per day and a storage tank that can hold 8 million gallons of LNG.
When the facility becomes operational in the second quarter of this year, it would be the first such terminal on North America’s west coast providing direct shoreside loading access for a bunker barge.
As part of the deal, GAC Bunker Fuels, a division of the Dubai-based GAC Group, will issue a request for proposal for a Jones Act-compliant LNG bunker barge. A third party would build, own, and operate the vessel.
In addition, the barge would have the flexibility in size and design to serve multiple shipping customers. The partners expect it to go live in 2023.
Loading from Puget LNG’s terminal in Tacoma, the barge will be able to bunker vessels in port. GAC will extend credit terms to shipping companies that purchase fuel on both contract and spot basis, it said.