Seaside LNG and Carnival Corporation & plc have entered into a term bunkering agreement to fuel the first LNG propelled cruise ship to call Galveston, Texas its homeport, the Carnival JubileeTM. This marks a significant milestone for Seaside and Carnival Corporation by working closely together to create an LNG supply chain in a new region of the United States, according to the company's release.
Seaside’s barge, the Clean Jacksonville, will move from Jacksonville, Florida to operate out of Galveston and serve the Texas Gulf Coast with its first LNG delivery to the Carnival Jubilee in December 2023. Through the assistance of the Port of Galveston, Seaside aligned all stakeholders to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to begin the operation this winter.
Initially, the LNG supply will be trucked from inland locations and then loaded onto Seaside’s LNG barge. Seaside and Carnival Corporation will continue to work together to provide direct access to a marine facility for the most efficient long-term supply solution.
The demand for LNG to fuel the maritime sector is growing rapidly with orders for Dual Fuel vessels eclipsing almost 50% of the world’s fleet orderbook. In addition, LNG is the leading solution in the maritime sector as the industry advances its sustainability goals while utilizing existing infrastructure to meet growing emissions reductions objectives.
Seaside LNG provides LNG production and maritime transportation logistics to meet the growing demand for LNG, a cleaner alternative fuel, to customers in the maritime, aerospace and transportation industries. Seaside owns 50% of JAX LNG, a small-scale (360,000 gallons/day) LNG production facility operating two trains in Jacksonville, Florida, and a 100% ownership stake in an LNG bunkering barge operation through Polaris New Energy (PNE). PNE, the bunkering arm of Seaside LNG, maintains the largest fleet of Jones Act-compliant bunkering vessels in the U.S., including Clean Canaveral, Clean Jacksonville and tug Polaris, and Clean Everglades and tug Tortuga. PNE’s bunkering operation is compatible with several vessel types, including cruise ships, containerships, tankers, and car carriers.
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc, is the first cruise line to sail over 100 million guests. Carnival operates from 14 U.S. and two Australian homeports and employs more than 40,000 team members representing 120 nationalities.