Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC made maritime history in North America last week by being not only the first owner/operator of a dual fuel offshore support vessel to bunker LNG as a marine fuel but to also successfully complete the first truck to vessel transfer of LNG and to power the M/V Harvey Energy on LNG.
The Harvey Energy built at GCSG in Gulfport, MS is based on the Vard Marine 1 311 design and is 310x64x24.5ft powered by 3 Wartsila 6L34DF dual fuel gensets providing 7.5MW of power fueled by Wartsila’s LNGPac system. The Harvey Energy is US Flagged Subchapter I and L, SOLAS compliant and is classed by the ABS as +A1, OSV, +AMS, +DPS-2, +ACCU, UWILD, FFV-1, ENVIRO+, GP, GFS (Dual Fuel Diesel) E. With 5,150 tons of deadweight, the vessel is capable of carrying 253,000 USG of Fuel Oil, 18, 000 Bbls of Liquid Mud, 1,600 Bbls of Methanol, 10, 250ft3 of Dry Cement and 78,000 USG of LNG fuel.
This historic bunkering took place at a shore-based terminal owned by a subsidiary of Martin Midstream Partners L.P. in Pascagoula, MS. Participating in the activities alongside the crew of the Harvey Energy was the U.S. Coast Guard, the ABS, Wartsila, Martin Energy Services LLC, State and Local Agencies and GCSG. The cool-down process took approximately 12 hours to achieve the desired tank temperature and pressure utilizing 3,800 gallons of nitrogen. The LNG bunkering was successfully completed within a few hours of cool-down. The Harvey Energy will next proceed to LNG trials before delivery.
Mr. Shane Guidry, Chairman and CEO of Harvey Gulf, commented. “today’s historic event is an example of Harvey Gulf’s commitment to their customers and the environment to provide the most affordable, innovative, environmentally friendly technology solutions to meet their business demands.”
In concert with the Harvey Energy, Harvey Gulf is preparing to operate the first LNG marine fueling facility in the United States, located at its vessel facility in Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The fueling facility will be a vital addition to the growing national LNG supply infrastructure, supporting critical operations of the oil and gas industry’s offshore support vessel fleet operating on clean burning LNG.
