First North American LNG bunkering barge arrives at Port Canaveral

Port Canaveral (Orlando City, Florida) will be the first port in North America to have a Liquefied Natural Gaz (LNG) refuelling facility.

With 5 LNG powered cruise ship in operation and 18 more to be delivered in the next 5 years, the ports around the world have to adapt and accommodate this greener maritime fuel option.

The Carnival Cruise latest ship, the Mardi Gras, will be home based in Port Canaveral as soon as the CDC has given the cruise line the go ahead for sailing.

A custom build bunker barges the Q-LNG 4000, nicknamed Q4K, has arrived in Florida early this week.

On 15 Feb 2021, the Q4K performed its first successful ship-to-ship refuelling the SEM Aristotle, a car truck carrier for its maiden voyage in Jacksonville, Florida.

The barge will be long-termed leased to LNG fuel supplier Shell Trading Company. As stated by Captain John Murray, Port CEO “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,” talking about the cruise industry he continues “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 USD 800 million barge and tug setup will enable Carnival Cruise’s Mardi Gras to be fuelled in 6 to 8 hours, while passengers dis-embark / embark.

“We are proud to deliver the Q-LNG 4000 to Port Canaveral,” said Chad Verret, 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 Q4K will carry enough supply to fuel 2 cruise line, each for a standard 7 nights cruise. The bunkering ship will be based at the Elba Island LNG Terminal, Georgia. It will sail to Port Canaveral, refuel the various ships and sail back to Georgia.

The LNB bunkering will be backed up by a newly acquired fireboat that arrived in Port Canaveral in January.