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Sinking of container ship will delay conversion of Tacoma Tote ships to LNG

The sinking of a 790-foot containership Oct. 1 on a voyage from Florida to Puerto Rico will delay the conversion of two Tacoma-based ships to natural gas propulsion. The lost ship, El Faro, had been scheduled to move from Florida to Tacoma at Thanksgiving to replace one of two Tote Maritime Alaska ships that sails between Tacoma and Anchorage. That ship, the Midnight Sun, had been scheduled to head to Singapore for a four-month conversion of its propulsion system from oil to less-polluting liquified natural gas. John Parrott, Tote Maritime president, said that without a ship to replace the Midnight Sun, Tote is delaying the conversion a year. El Faro, then called the Northern Lights, served the Alaska route until 2006 when it was transferred to Florida to serve Tote Maritime Alaska’s sister company Tote Maritime Puerto Rico. Both companies are part of privately held Saltchuk Companies. El Faro was due to move to a shipyard in late October for reconversion to an Alaska trade ship. In the trade between Florida and Puerto Rico, the ship was equipped to handle both trailers and shipping containers. On the Alaska route, Tote ships handle only trailers and vehicles. On the Puerto Rico run, El Faro has already been replaced by a new ship, the Isla Bella, the first of two new natural gas powered ships built for Tote in San Diego. Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/article43698630.html#storylink=cpy

TOTE Picks Keppel for Orca-class LNG Conversions

Totem Ocean Trailer Express (Totem Ocean), part of U.S. domestic carrier TOTE Maritime, has finally selected a shipyard and revealed new details about the conversion of its first Orca-class roll-on/roll-off cargo ship to dual fuel liquified natural gas (LNG) propulsion. Totem Ocean announced Wednesday that it has signed a contract with Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, for the conversion of the diesel-electric Midnight Star to LNG, which the company describes as the world’s first major conversion of a large RO/RO vessel to liquified natural gas. Work is expected begin in December and is expected to be completed in 90 days. Totem Ocean first revealed the conversions in August 2012 after receiving a conditional waiver for ECA fuel sulfur content requirements while the company pursued the conversion of its two Orca-class vessels to alternative fuel, namely LNG. Totem Ocean says that the conversion of the Midnight Sun to LNG significantly reduces air and greenhouse gas emissions, reducing emissions of particulate matter by 91 percent, NOx by 100 percent, SOx by 90 percent and carbon dioxide by 35 percent. Midnight Sun’s sister ship, the North Star, is expected to be converted in the 2016-2017, the company said.

Freighter Loses Power in Cook Inlet

Near the end of its run from Tacoma, Wash. to Anchorage, Alaska, motor vessel Midnight Sun partially lost power and proceeded to Kachemak Bay under orders from US Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Western Alaska, Paul Mehler III. Radio and e-mail logs at the Homer Harbormaster’s office indicate that the 839-foot M/V Midnight Sun at 7:00 pm reported loss of two of four diesel-electric generators that propel the ship. Homer Harbormaster Bryan Hawkins said that the ship reported its position at that time as about 10 nautical miles west of Port Graham in lower Cook Inlet. Hawkins said that M/V Midnight Sun anchored in Kachemak Bay overnight to effect repairs and never took a tow. Although no injuries or spills occurred, Hawkins characterized the incident as “very concerning”. USCG Petty Officer First Class Shawn Eggert said that the vessel had 39,000 pounds of chlorine as part of its cargo as well as 6,000 gallons of fuel. Eggert did not know if the 6,000 gallons rode as cargo or as ship’s fuel. M/V Midnight Sun has a fuel capacity of 504,000 gallons according to Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The website for Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc., which operates M/V Midnight Sun shows that the vessel has double-hulled fuel compartments, entered service in 2003 and flies the US flag. M/V Midnight Sun can carry up to 600 shipping containers or the equivalent in trailers. http://sewardcitynews.com/2015/01/freighter-losses-power-in-cook-inlet-regains-it-no-spill-no-foul/