Seaspan marked a new milestone earlier this week with the fuelling of a container ship that runs on liquid natural gas.
On March 9, Seaspan Energy completed its Canadian first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in English Bay.
Earlier, in December, it completed its first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in the U.S. at the Port of Long Beach, in California.
For the first Canadian ship-to-ship fuelling on Sunday, Seapan’s new LNG bunkering vessel, the Seaspan Garibaldi, refuelled the CMA CGM Pointe Du Piton, a container ship built in 2024 by HD Hyundai Samho.
The Garibaldi is one of three LNG bunkering vessels that Seaspan Energy now has in its fleet.
Many ocean-going vessels today still burn bunker fuel, which produces more pollutants than cleaner-burning natural gas.
In 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) placed new controls on ship emissions – namely on sulphur content – which required shippers to either install scrubbers, or switch to less polluting fuels such as lower sulphur diesel, methanol or natural gas. But a switch to natural gas also requires a switch in ship-to-ship fuel delivery.
To address that need, Season has put into service a fleet of three LNG bunkering vessels, which can fuel ships while they are moored in ports and bays.
“Seaspan is proud to be at the forefront of helping to reduce vessel emissions here in North America as LNG becomes an increasingly important transitional fuel for the marine industry,” Seaspan Energy president Harly Penner said in a press release.
“As more ship owners seek to use LNG to power their tankers, container ships, car carriers, and cruise ships, we are excited to offer our LNG bunkering services for those seeking ship-to-ship refuelling in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.”
Seaspan said its fleet of LNG bunkering vessels are “poised to serve the West Coast of North America.”
“Ensuring there are safe marine refuelling services available for ships calling the Port of Vancouver is critical to our purpose of enabling Canada’s trade,” said Shri Madiwal, vice-president of operations and supply chain for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
“We are proud to collaborate with industry partners to support the international shipping sector in its decarbonization journey and emissions reduction efforts, including by accrediting Seaspan Energy to offer LNG as a cleaner alternative fuel for in-port bunkering.”
