Title XI guarantees for TOTE LNG containerships

Artist's rendering showing the LNG fuel tanks in the stern of the Marlin Class containerships

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014—Two dual-fuel 3,100-TEU containerships under construction at General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego, CA, for TOTE, Inc., will receive a $324.6 million Title XI loan guarantee from the U.S. Maritime Administration, according to an announcement by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox. The two containerships will be the first of their kind to use Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel.

 “This is proof-positive that when we work to build America’s green energy economy, we can directly support the creation of meaningful jobs, supporting the President’s goal to strengthen America’s middle class,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This one action significantly decreases emissions, supports jobs from one coast to the other, bolsters the Nation’s manufacturing base, and continues growing our economy.”
  
The construction of the containerships will generate 600 jobs at NASSCO, support companies throughout the nation that supply the materials and equipment, and once in service, the two new vessels will provide for 60 new U.S. merchant mariner jobs.
 
Operating primarily on LNG, the boxships will be the most environmentally friendly ships of their kind, with MAN Diesel & Turbo GI engines that reduce the discharge of particulates to well below the levels mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the North American Emissions Control Area.

 When the two ships are delivered in 2015 and 2016, they will operate between the Port of Jacksonville in Florida and Puerto Rico, transporting containers, automobiles and other cargoes. The ships will provide greater efficiencies and increase the available volume of refrigeration equipment used for shipping, which is critical to ensuring pharmaceuticals, produce, and other products vital to the residents of Puerto Rico are delivered in the best possible condition.

You can read more about TOTE’s Marlin Class dual fuel containerships in Marine Log’s exclusive interview with TOTE President & CEO Anthony Chiarello for its August 2014 issue.

The Title XI Loan Guarantee program promotes the growth and modernization of U.S. shipyards and the U.S. merchant marine by ensuring the U.S. vessels are manufactured in U.S shipyards by U.S. workers.

 “The shipbuilding industry contributes more than $36 billion to our national economy,” says Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen.  “The Obama Administration remains committed to our shipping industry, which does more than just create jobs and new opportunities, but also strengthens local economies.”
 
The Title XI program guarantees the repayment of loans, obtained in the private sector by ship owners, for the construction reconstruction, or reconditioning of vessels in U.S. shipyards.  MARAD currently guarantees approximately $1.7 billion in U.S. shipyard projects.