VESSEL REVIEW | Seaspan Garibaldi – First of three new LNG bunkering ships to serve Pacific Northwest market

Chinese shipyard Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore and Engineering (CIMC SOE) has delivered the first in a series of three LNG bunkering vessels ordered by Canadian shipping company Seaspan for operation by its Seaspan Energy division.

Designed to ensure reduced environmental impact

The vessel is named Seaspan Garibaldi after Mount Garibaldi, a volcano in British Columbia. All three ships in the series will be named after famed mountains on Canada’s West Coast. The second vessel, Seaspan Lions, will also be delivered this year while the third ship, Seaspan Baker, will be handed over in 2025.

The series was designed by Canadian naval architecture firm Vard Marine in close collaboration with Seaspan to incorporate advanced technologies that would help reduce emissions and underwater noise. Seaspan said the design is focused on safe, efficient, and economical refuelling of multiple ship types with an ability to transfer to and from a wide range of terminals.

The newbuild has a length of 112.8 metres (370 feet), a beam of 18.6 metres (61 feet), a draught of 5.1 metres (17 feet), a design speed of 13 knots, and capacity for 7,600 cubic metres (270,000 cubic feet) of LNG. The propulsion system also includes three dual-fuel generators and two 1,600kW electrically-driven azimuthing thrusters. This configuration can be modified in the future to also accommodate batteries, thus permitting hybrid electric operation suitable for ports where strict emissions regulations are in place.

Seaspan Garibaldi and its two sisters will be capable of ship-to-ship LNG transfer and coastal and short-sea shipping operations. They will provide LNG fuelling services for vessels on the West Coast of North America, making Seaspan the first company to provide LNG bunkering services in the Pacific Northwest in addition to bunkering of traditional marine fuels.

Supporting Panama Canal vessel traffic

Seaspan Garibaldi is classed by Bureau Veritas and will sail under the flag of Panama to permit deployment in the Panama Canal region, though it is also designed to comply with Canadian requirements.

Under a memorandum of understanding between Seaspan and energy company AES, the ship will provide LNG bunkering services to vessels crossing the Panama Canal.