Houston-based Seaside LNG has taken delivery of the 5,500-cbm LNG bunkering barge, Clean Everglades, from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.
Executives from the firm backed by Houston-based Arroyo Investors and its maritime transportation unit, Polaris New Energy, gathered at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding on Tuesday to christen the recently constructed LNG bunkering barge.
Back in 2021, Seaside contracted Fincantieri to build the barge.
The barge features four 1,375-cbm IMO type C tanks and utilizes a cargo handling system designed and developed by Wartsila.
Clean Everglades is similar in design and appearance to its sister ship, Clean Canaveral, which was delivered by Fincantieri two years ago and has made more than 65 LNG bunkering deliveries, Seaside said.
This articulated tug and barge unit completed its first LNG bunkering operation in March last year in Jacksonville.
It operates along the coast of the southeastern US and is the largest bunkering barge in the Jones Act market, according to Seaside.
In addition, Seaside bought this year North America’s first LNG bunkering barge, Clean Jacksonville, from Tote Maritime Puerto Rico.
Built by Conrad, the LNG bunkering barge has no propulsion and it features one 2,200-cbm GTT LNG tank.
Seaside says it now has the largest fleet of LNG bunkering barges in the US.
“Polaris New Energy is excited to continue to expand the LNG bunkering infrastructure in the United States,” said Tim Casey, CEO of Seaside.
“The delivery of the Clean Everglades gives us the ability to expand our LNG bunkering business to the Gulf of Mexico,” Casey said.