US-based Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is moving forward with the construction of an LNG bunkering barge for NorthStar Midstream’s unit Polaris New Energy.
In a recent update, Fincantieri Marine Group’s yard, which is the US division of Italian Fincantieri, said it still expects to complete the LNG bunkering barge in late 2021.
The 5,400-cbm barge will feature four type C tanks, which will arrive in the shipyard in late October.
Once complete, it will become just the third LNG bunkering barge ever built in the US, according to Fincantieri.
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 work as a small-scale LNG carrier.
It will source the fuel from JAX LNG, a production facility in Jacksonville, Florida. The facility is run by a partnership between NorthStar and Pivotal.