Harvey Gulf Claims First North American LNG Bunkering of OSV

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday February 10, 2015

Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC (Harvey Gulf) Friday claimed to be the first company in North America to bunker an offshore support vessel (OSV) with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

The dual-fuel M/V Harvey Energy was supplied with LNG bunkers by truck-to-ship transfer in Pascagoula in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The cool down process took 12 hours and used 3,800 gallons of nitrogen to bring the vessel's tanks to the required temperature.

The bunkering operation as overseen among others by representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, classification body ABS, and Wärtsilä.

"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," said Shane Guidry, Chairman and CEO of Harvey Gulf.

It is understood that the 5,150 deadweight ton vessel has not yet entered service, having recently been built at Gulf Coast Shipyard Group's Gulfport, Mississippi, facility.

It will undergo further testing before being delivered for use in operations.

The vessel is designed based on the Vard Marine 1 311, powered by three Wärtsilä 6L3
4DF engines and field by Wärtsilä's LNGPac system.

In 2014, Harvey Gulf said it had begun construction of a marine LNG bunkering facility in Louisiana on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast, adding that it planned to spend $350 million building a LNG-powered fleet.