Fuelling specialist Seaside LNG has completed the first bunkering of fuel from its newest vessel, the Clean Everglades, near Jacksonville, Florida.
The Clean Everglades was built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and delivered to Seaside LNG in October last year. Featuring capacity of 500 cubic metres of LNG. The vessel is similar in design and appearance to its sister ship, the LNG barge Clean Canaveral.
“As the demand for LNG as a cleaner maritime fuel continues to grow, our team and barge fleet are ready to deliver,” Tim Casey, CEO of Seaside LNG, said. “Clean Everglades gives us the ability to expand our LNG bunkering business to the Gulf of Mexico. Partnering with the talented and professional staff at Fincantieri has produced a second exceptional vessel.”
Clean Everglades bunkered fuel to the Isla Bella at the TOTE Maritime’s terminal near Jacksonville. The delivery was part of a long-term service contract with TOTE that includes regularly scheduled refuelling from Polaris New Energy (PNE), the bunkering arm of Seaside LNG.
Galveston landmark
In a separate milestone, Seaside LNG also recently completed the first delivery of fuel to the Carnival Jubilee, an LNG propelled cruise ship stationed in Galveston, Texas.
“We were the first to introduce LNG-powered cruise ships into the North American market,” Tom Strang, Senior Vice President of Maritime Affairs, Carnival Corporation, said, adding “we appreciate Seaside for moving quickly to mobilize, find supply, and bring the parties together to create a new LNG supply chain to support our LNG bunkering needs.”
The firm provided the service under a term bunkering agreement with Carnival Corporation after careful coordination with all parties involved.
“This operation marked the first in port ship-to-ship LNG bunkering delivery not only in Galveston but also along the entire U.S. Gulf Coast,” a spokesperson for the firm said.
Seaside recently moved Clean Jacksonville from Jacksonville to operate out of Galveston and serve the Texas Gulf Coast. Having been in operation since 2018, the Clean Jacksonville has now completed more than 350 bunkering operations.
“The Seaside LNG team is excited to start 2024 off strong with these two deliveries. We appreciate the trust our customers put in us to arrange these important fuelling operations. We also recognize TOTE Services for their contributions as a reliable operating partner,” Casey said.
Alongside its wholly owned subsidiary Polaris New Energy, Seaside owns a 50% stake of JAX LNG, a small-scale LNG production facility operating two trains in Jacksonville. Polaris New Energy maintains the largest fleet of Jones Act-compliant bunkering vessels in the US, including Clean Canaveral, Clean Jacksonville and tug Polaris, and Clean Everglades and tug Tortuga.
