Seaside LNG to start Galveston bunkering operation

Seaside LNG will move its bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville to Galveston. [Image: Seaside LNG]

Seaside LNG has reached a term bunkering agreement with Carnival Corporation & plc that will see it fuel the first LNG powered cruise ship to homeport in Galveston, Texas, the Carnival Jubilee.

Seaside LNG will move its bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville, acquired from TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, LLC in February this year, from Jacksonville, Fla., to Galveston, where it will serve the Texas Gulf Coast makingits first LNG delivery to the Carnival Jubilee in December 2023.

Seaside says that, through the assistance of the Port of Galveston, it has aligned all stakeholders to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to begin the operation this winter.

“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,” said Tom Strang, senior vice president of maritime affairs, Carnival Corporation.

Initially, the LNG supply will be trucked from inland locations and then loaded onto Seaside’s LNG barge. Seaside and Carnival Corporation will work together to provide direct access to a marine facility for the most efficient long-term supply solution.

Carnival Corporation has continued its commitment to reducing carbon emissions with a growing global LNG powered fleet.

“LNG delivers immediate greenhouse gas emission reductions and is the best available market-ready fuel to help cut ship emissions now – so Carnival Corporation is investing in LNG-powered vessels as part of our ambition to achieve net-zero carbon ship operations by 2050,” said Strang. “We were the first to introduce LNG-powered cruise ships into the North American market, and we’ll be the first to introduce our LNG fleet to Galveston with the Carnival Jubilee.”

“The Seaside LNG team is excited to expand our LNG bunkering reach in the U.S. by linking a local supplier with Carnival Corporation through the use of our LNG barge fleet,” said Tim Casey, CEO of Seaside LNG. “We plan to continue building upon this position in the Texas Gulf Coast market by sending additional barges to the region in the future.”

Seaside LNG provides LNG production and maritime transportation logistics to meet growing demand for LNG from customers in the maritime, aerospace and transportation industries.

Seaside owns 50% of JAX LNG, a small-scale (360,000 gallons/day) LNG production facility operating two trains in Jacksonville, and a 100% ownership stake in an LNG bunkering barge operation through Polaris New Energy (PNE). PNE, the bunkering arm of Seaside LNG, maintains the largest fleet of Jones Act-compliant bunkering vessels in the U.S., including Clean Canaveral, Clean Jacksonville and tug Polaris, and its most recent delivery, Clean Everglades, and tug Tortuga.