General Dynamics NASSCO christens LNG-ready tanker

General Dynamics NASSCO recently celebrated the christening and launch of the sixth ship in a series of eight eco-friendly tankers constructed or under construction at the company’s shipyard in San Diego, US.

The Constitution, an LNG-conversion-ready product tanker with a 330 000 bbl cargo capacity, was built for SEA-Vista, a partnership between SEACOR Holdings Inc. and Avista Capital Partners, and will be operated by Seabulk Tankers, Inc.

As part of the ceremony, the ship’s sponsor, Mrs Cristin Thorogood – wife of Dan Thorogood, SEACOR Ocean Transport President – christened the ship with a traditional champagne bottle break over the ship’s hull. Mrs Sandi Dunkel, a NASSCO employee for nearly 25 years, pulled the trigger to release the ship into San Diego Bay.

Kevin Graney, Vice President and General Manager for General Dynamics NASSCO, said: “The construction of a ship represents an entire community of highly-trained and highly-skilled individuals working together – from design conception to delivery – toward a common purpose: to revolutionise the future of American shipping with the construction of innovative, cost-saving, and environmentally-sound vessels […] The christening and launch of a ship represents the hard-earned efforts of this community. It’s the first time a ship enters the water – and it’s another milestone toward the delivery of a quality product that will service our nation’s maritime needs for decades to come.”

Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/31082016/general-dynamics-nassco-christens-lng-ready-tanker-2977/