First Liquid Natural Gas Burning Ship in U.S. Built in Gulfport

First there were hybrid cars, now there are hybrid service vessels on the water. In a world moving towards more eco-friendly options, not only is the Enviro + the first ship in the U.S. made to run on liquid natural gas (L.N.G.), it was also built on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Ships switching to liquid natural gas could limit the damaging effects of environmental disasters like the BP oil spill, since the gas would just evaporate into the air instead of polluting the water. The Enviro +, built at Gulf Coast Shipyard, coasted through the waters to the Port of Gulfport Monday, where it will stay for a few weeks before she is sent to Louisiana to service Shell oil rigs.

William Smith III, Vice President of Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, says, “This is the first one that will be able to operate on liquid natural gas as a primary fuel. So that’s what makes it very unique.”

The vessel will be delivered to Louisiana in October and when delivered, she will be the first vessel in the U.S. to burn liquid natural gas. Smith also says, “It’s one percent of the particulates that diesel has and there’s almost virtually no carbon. So the whole idea is that when you’re burning the L.N.G., is that you’re carbon footprint is almost nil.”

Builders of the Enviro + tell News 25 liquid natural gas emits 99% less emissions than diesel, the engines last longer when burning L.N.G., and L.N.G. costs less than diesel fuel. The Enviro + is a dual fuel vessel, meaning it can burn both diesel and L.N.G. Its primary fuel will be L.N.G., but if it’s not available, she can still operate on diesel.

Smith closes, “If everything goes well, that it really is what they envision, that you can simply switch from diesel to liquid natural gas and getting the liquid natural gas to the boats and to Louisiana where they’ll be located. If all of that goes smoothly, there’s an anticipation that there will be a big demand for these types of vessels.”

Gulf Coast Shipyard builders are excited to see how efficient the Enviro + is when she’s put to work next month. A total of six Enviro + vessels built at Gulf Coast Shipyard will be sent to Louisiana for Shell to use to service their oil rigs.