General Dynamics NASSCO has launched the world’s first LNG powered containership at the company’s shipyard in San Diego. The christening[ds_preview] and launch ceremony also commemorated NASSCO’s 100th ship launch.
The ship named »Isla Bella« was built for Tote. As part of a two-ship contract signed in December 2012 with Tote, the 232m long Marlin class containerships would be the largest dry cargo ships of any kind in the world powered by LNG, NASSCO informed. The green ship technology would dramatically decrease emissions while increasing fuel efficiency as compared to conventionally powered ships. According to the shipyard, the ships will also include a ballast water treatment tsystem, making them »the greenest ships of their size anywhere in the world. Upon delivery in late 2015, the Jones Act-qualified ships will operate between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. As NASSCO informed, as a complement to its government new construction business, which over the past decade has delivered 16 ships to the U.S. Navy, in the past decade, the yard delivered eleven commercial ships. Currently there are ten commercial ships under contract, including the two Marlin Class containerships for Tote.
For its commercial work, NASSCO partners with South Korean shipbuilding power, DSME, for access to state-of-the-art ship design and shipbuilding technologies. According to NASSCO, it is the only major shipyard on the West Coast of the US conducting new construction and repair.
