Seaside LNG and Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) have entered into a term bunkering agreement to fuel the first LNG propelled cruise ship to call Galveston, Texas its homeport, the Carnival JubileeTM. This marks a significant milestone for Seaside and Carnival Corporation by working closely together to create an LNG supply chain in a new region of the United States.
Seaside’s barge, the Clean Jacksonville, will move from Jacksonville, Florida to operate out of Galveston and serve the Texas Gulf Coast with its first LNG delivery to the Carnival Jubilee in December 2023. Through the assistance of the Port of Galveston, Seaside aligned all stakeholders to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to begin the operation this winter.
Initially, the LNG supply will be trucked from inland locations and then loaded onto Seaside’s LNG barge. Seaside and Carnival Corporation will continue to work together to provide direct access to a marine facility for the most efficient long-term supply solution.
Carnival Corporation has continued to show its dedication to reducing carbon emissions through their 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 Tom Strang, Senior Vice President of Maritime Affairs, Carnival Corporation & plc. “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. 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.”
“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,” added 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.”
The demand for LNG to fuel the maritime sector is growing rapidly with orders for Dual Fuel vessels eclipsing almost 50% of the world’s fleet orderbook. In addition, LNG is the leading solution in the maritime sector as the industry advances its sustainability goals while utilizing existing infrastructure to meet growing emissions reductions objectives.