Jane Edwards
ST Engineering North America’s VT Halter Marine business and Q-LNG Transport held a naming ceremony for the first U.S.-made offshore liquefied natural gas bunkering barge and tug unit in Pascagoula, Miss.
VT Halter Marine said Monday the Q-LNG 4000 barge and the Q-Ocean Services tug are expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2020.
The Q-LNG 4000 barge is designed to transport 4K cubic meters of LNG and facilitate ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transfers of the fuel to vessels and small-scale marine distribution platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and overseas.
Tom Vecchiolla, president and CEO of ST Engineering North America and a previous Wash100 winner, said the vessel’s completion seeks to reflect the efforts of VT Halter Marine employees to ensure national security and meet the country’s energy needs.
“The significance of this vessel is that the shipbuilders of VT Halter Marine are delivering the next major development of the infrastructure for the cruise and commercial ship industries as they advance to cleaner and more efficient fuels,†Vecchiolla added.
Q-LNG Transport CEO Shane Guidry, Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) and Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) were also present during the vessel naming ceremony.
VT Halter Marine developed the LNG articulated tug and barge unit through a contract Q-LNG Transport awarded in November 2017.
