Storage tanks
Installation of two cryogenic liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks at a new bunkering facility in Jacksonville, Florida, is underway and expected to be completed by late this summer. On April 5, Eagle LNG Partners delivered the LNG storage tanks for Crowley Maritime Corp.'s facility at the Port of Jacksonville's Talleyrand Marine Terminal (JAXPORT). A new Eagle LNG plant in West Jacksonville, with a liquefaction capacity of 200,000 gallons per day, will supply the tanks.
LNG bunkering provides fuel for use onboard a vessel. The JAXPORT storage tanks can each hold approximately 265,000 gallons of LNG and will fuel two LNG-powered container/roll-on roll-off (ConRo) vessels—El Coquí and Taíno—for service between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The bunkering facility is the second in the United States and part of a growing global trend. A facility in Port Fourchon, Louisiana began operations in 2016.
On October 28, 2016, the International Maritime Organization—a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN)—issued mandatory requirements to reduce emissions by nearly 87% for ships sailing in international waters. Beginning in January 2020, ships can burn a maximum sulfur content of 0.5%, except when traveling in designated Emission Control Areas, where the sulfur limit is 0.1%. Compliance can be achieved by desulfurizing high-sulfur fuel before use or by scrubbing the exhaust gas; another option is to burn an alternative low-sulfur fuel such as LNG.
For LNG to become an attractive shipping fuel, a global network of LNG bunkering facilities is needed. Currently, the largest LNG bunkering facilities are in Singapore and Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Many U.S. companies, such as Tote, Crowley, Harvey Gulf, and Carnival, have announced construction of LNG-fueled marine vessels. On May 1, Harvey Gulf delivered its fourth vessel in its LNG-powered off-shore production supply fleet.
