Orange shipyard project ‘barge in’ to tanker

ORANGE – Here’s another payoff from the natural gas boom resounding throughout the United States: an Orange shipyard is building the first barge-to-tanker vessels to carry liquefied natural gas (LNG) in North America.

The builder is Conrad Orange Shipyard and work on the vessel, a "bunker barge," should begin almost immediately, said Robert Sampey, business development manager for the shipyard’s parent company, Conrad Industries.

The barge’s buyer is WesPac Midstream.

The project won’t create any new jobs, but it will keep a third of Conrad’s 300-worker roster busy and could attract more activity for other liquefied gas vessels, Sampey said.

The 212-foot barge capable of holding 2,200 cubic meters of LNG is scheduled for completion in early 2016.

The barge will be put to work in Tacoma, Washington, to help fuel ships before it is ultimately relocated to Jacksonville, Florida.

This project gives Southeast Texas stake in a growing market for providing and using LNG as a marine fuel.