CRUISE SHIPPING Carnival has used the downtime to upgrade Port NOLA’s homeported Carnival Valor. Upon its return to Port NOLA, the Valor will be like a new vessel.
U.S. Ports See Silver Linings Despite Pandemic
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18 Marine Log // March 2021
in cooperation with LNG fuel supplier Shell Trading Company, arrived at Port Canaveral recently for a sailing and berthing familiarization exercise. The vessel docked at Port Canaveral’s newly constructed Cruise Terminal 3, which was completed in June 2020 but not yet welcomed its first cruise passenger, with the global shutdown of the cruise industry due to the COVID pandemic. “LNG is the fuel of the future, it’s clean, less expensive and made right here in the United States,” said Canaveral Port Authority Commission Chairman Rear Adm. Wayne Justice (USCG, Ret.). “We are proud to be part of making this safe secure move to the future in this region.” T he U.S. built, ow ned and crewed ATB, comprising a 324 foot long barge and a 128-foot tug, is the first Jones Actcompliant ATB built in the U.S. that is specifically designed to conduct LNG cargo and bunker operations. When the ATB is conducting its ship-to-ship onwater bunkering process of a cruise vessel, it will take place during the ship’s passenger debarking and embarking processes, like conventional refueling operations, and last approximately six to eight hours. “We are proud to deliver the Q-LNG 4000 to Port Canaveral,” said Chad Verret,
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President of Q-LNG Transport. “LNG is the marine fuel of the future, it’s domestically sourced and in abundant supply in the U.S. We look to supplying not only cruise ships but trading vessels in the future.” The barge will load LNG from a fuel distribution facility on Elba Island, Ga., then return to Georgia to refuel after each LNG bunkering operation in Port Canaveral. The ATB has a carrying capacity of up to 4,000 cubic meters of LNG, the equivalent of 1 million gallons of fuel. Additionally, the Q-LNG 4000 fueling operations will be supported while it’s in Port Canaveral by the port’s newly acquired fireboat, which arrived in January. The purpose-built Marine Firefighting Rescue Vessel will be operated by Canaveral Fire Rescue to provide enhanced fire protection and response capabilities to serve the expanding maritime and commercial space industry operations at the port. The good news for cruise ports doesn’t stop in Port Canaveral, however.
Port of Galveston’s Hope for 2021 In December, newly released cruise industry economic impact numbers for 2019 showed that the resumption of cruising will play a critical role in helping drive the Port of
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Photo Credit: Port of New Orleans
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arlier this month, Port Canaveral in Florida marked a historic milestone in the safe, reliable transportation and delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in North America as the Q-LNG 4000, a cutting-edge ship-to-ship articulated tug and bunker barge (ATB), arrived at America’s first LNG cruise port. What does that have to do with cruise ships exactly? The purpose-built ATB will operate in Port Canaveral providing LNG fuel to cruise vessels, notably to Carnival Cruise Line’s LNG-powered Mardi Gras, which will homeport at Port Canaveral beginning this year. Built by Halter Marine for Shane Guidry’s Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport (Q-LNG), the ATB will carry enough supply of LNG to fuel two cruise ships, each for a seven-day itinerary. “This project has been four years from concept to reality and we are excited to welcome the Q-LNG 4000 to fuel the next generation of cruise ships,” said Capt. John Murray, CEO of the port. “We have been working closely with our cruise partners, all the federal and state regulatory agencies, and industry leaders to promote this industry initiative.” The 4,000-cubic-meter barge, constructed
By Heather Ervin, Editor in Chief
