JAXPORT has endorsed liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel source for the maritime industry in a new video that has explored why developments taking place at the port in the US state of Florida is giving the region a reputation boost when it comes to saving the planet.
JAX LNG, a partnership between Pivotal LNG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company Gas, and NorthStar Midstream, a midstream transportation company, will bring a steady supply of more than 120,000 gallons of LNG per day to Florida once its finished building a liquefaction and storage facility at Dames Point.
The facility will provide fuel for the world’s first LNG-powered containerships, the 3,100 TEU 'Isla Bella' and 'Perla Del Caribe', operated by TOTE Maritime at JAXPORT.
North America’s first LNG bunker barge, Clean Jacksonville, will also be able to serve the vessels after starting operations in 2017 to provide LNG for ships calling at JAXPORT's Blount Island Terminal.
View JAXPORT's 'Leading the Clean Fuel Revolution' Infographic by clicking it:
But these developments are just the start, as another operator at JAXPORT, Crowley Maritime, is bringing two more LNG-powered vessels to its Talleyrand Marine Terminal.
The ships, ‘El Coquí’ and ‘Taíno’, will each have the capacity for 2,400 TEU with additional space for nearly 400 vehicles.
Crowley's involvement in the field of green shipping makes sense as its Carib Energy division has begun small-scale exports of LNG to Puerto Rico and has plans for expansion to many countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The operator is also working with LNG fuel solution specialist Eagle LNG, which has started constructing a liquefaction plant in West Jacksonville that will produce 200,000 gallons of LNG a day.
Crowley is also building an LNG production and storage facility near Blount Island and a holding facility at Talleyrand Marine Terminal.
It announced in June this year that a collaboration with both the energy company ExxonMobil and Eagle LNG Partners would develop LNG as a marine fuel and establish the storage and technical support necessary to provide safe, reliable LNG delivery for vessel operators bunkering in North America.
Speaking about Crowley's developments at JAXPORT, Eagle LNG President Sean Lalani said: “Because of its multiple benefits, including being cleaner for the environment, we expect LNG demand for ship fuel to increase to 30 million tons a year (MTPA) by 2030.
“We recognize Crowley’s leadership as an early adopter of this fuel.”
