NASSCO lays keel for LNG-ready ECO tanker

SEA-Vista's Tom Sofyanos and Tom Denning (second and third from left) and Ed Hoffman (at right of group) welded their initials into the keel of the ship

MAY 31, 2016 — General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, CA, hosted a keel laying ceremony May 25 for the Liberty, one of three ECO Class tankers under construction for SEA-Vista LLC, a partnership between Seacor Holdings, Inc. and Avista Capital Partners.

Once delivered, the Jones Act tanker will be operated by Seabulk Tankers, Inc.

As honorees at the ceremony, SEA-Vista’s Tom Sofyanos, Tom Denning and Ed Hoffman welded their initials into the keel of the ship.

The first of the three SEA-Vista ECO tankers, the Independence, was delivered in April.

The 610-ft, 50,000 deadweight-ton, LNG-conversion-ready product tankers have a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity. They are being built to a design by DSEC—a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) of Busan, South Korea— that incorporates improved fuel efficiency concepts through features that include a G-series MAN Diesel & Turbo ME slow-speed main engine and an optimized hull form. installation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel-gas system.