Sturgeon Bay, Wis. shipyard Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding said it has delivered the 340-ft. liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering barge, Clean Canaveral, to Polaris New Energy on Friday, December 3.
Built as part of an articulated tug and barge unit (ATB), the 5,500 cubic meter capacity barge is the largest of its kind ever built in the U.S., and will soon be followed by another barge of similar size for an affiliate of Polaris New Energy, as they grow their leadership position in the domestic LNG bunkering market.
“We are really proud to deliver this important vessel on time,” said Craig Perciavalle, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding’s new Vice President and General Manager. “Thanks to the entire team here and all of the suppliers and partners who worked through the many challenges over the last couple of years.”
Attending the delivery ceremony were representatives and family members from Polaris New Energy. Mac Hummel, CEO of Polaris offered comments to the ceremony, as well as Thomas Sullivan, senior VP of Operations for Polaris New Energy.
After thanking the team at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Hummel said, “And I recognize it's not only all of you standing here today. It's your families, it's your loved ones, it's your friends, it's the local businesses that support the shipyard. It's local officials that also lend their support.” Hummel then offered thanks for the continued support of the U.S. Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping, Vard for design services, and Wartsila for the LNG handling systems.
“When Northstar decided to enter the LNG bunkering business,” Sullivan said, “we reached out to several shipyards for bids. But based on our past experience with Fincantieri Bay [Shipbuilding], the incredible talent of the team that's standing before me now, the welders, the pipe fitters, the electricians, the paint crew, and everyone behind the scenes, my hope was we could come to terms with Fincantieri Bay. And thankfully we did that, because the work that you've done is incredible.”
Sullivan’s daughter-in-law Candyce Sullivan ceremoniously smashed a bottle of champagne on a portion of the ship to present the Clean Canaveral.
Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is on contract to build a sister 5,500 cubic meter ATB for Northstar and Polaris, in addition to other new construction and steady repair work in the Great Lakes.