New York-based McAllister Towing said it has won a contract to manage Polaris New Energy’s new LNG bunkering barge which should begin service by the end of this year.
McAllister Towing LNG Services, a new unit of McAllister, will operate the articulated tug and barge unit named Clean Canaveral.
On the other side, US-based Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is building the 5,400-cbm barge which will feature four type C tanks. The tug has about 4,000 horsepower.
Polaris New Energy is the marine bunkering unit of Seaside LNG, which is a subsidiary of Oaktree Capital Management-backed Northstar Holdco Energy.
Northstar said earlier this year the 103 meters long ABS-classed LNG bunkering barge would begin service by the fourth quarter of this year.
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 work as a small-scale LNG carrier.
It will source the fuel from JAX LNG, a production facility in Jacksonville, Florida. A partnership between NorthStar and Pivotal LNG runs the facility.
The duo is working to increase the facility’s production capability three times to 360,000 gallons per day but also double LNG storage capacity to four million gallons.