Keppel awarded LNG conversion contract
Published by Callum O'Reilly,
Senior Editor
LNG Industry,
Totem Ocean Trailer Express has signed a contract with Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M)’s wholly owned subsidiary Keppel Shipyard Ltd for the conversion of the Midnight Sun to dual fuel LNG propulsion.
This will be the world’s first major conversion of a large Ro/Ro vessel to LNG. Work will begin in December and is expected to be completed in 90 days.
Another of the company’s ships, the North Star, is expected to be converted in the 2016/2017 timeframe.
“Totem Ocean is excited to partner with Keppel for the conversion of the Midnight Sun, enabling her to operate on natural gas” stated John Parrott, President of Totem Ocean. “The removal and replacement of the four engines, adding 2200 m3 of LNG capacity along with the addition of 47 km of new cabling is a complex undertaking, and we are confident that Keppel will provide safe, timely, high quality work to ensure the best outcome for Totem Ocean and our customers.”
Michael Chia, Managing Director (Marine & Technology), Keppel Offshore & Marine, added: “We are happy to start a new partnership with Totem Ocean who has entrusted us with the conversion of their first Ro/Ro vessel to run on both diesel and natural gas. Due to natural gas’ cleaner burning properties, more and more vessel owners are choosing to have their ships powered by LNG. Leveraging our strong track record and experience in ship modification and conversion work, Keppel is well positioned to capture this growing market to meet the industry’s needs for environmentally friendly solutions.”
Puget Sound Energy, in partnership with Totem Ocean and the Port of Tacoma, has plans to construct an LNG liquefaction terminal at the Port that will serve Totem Ocean, residents of Puget Sound and the broader transportation industry in the Pacific Northwest. This facility is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2018.
In the short-term, TOTE and its partner WesPac are building North America’s first LNG bunker barge to deliver fuel to the ships once converted.
Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly
Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/05082015/keppel-awarded-lng-conversion-contract-1105/
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