MacGregor wins first LNG bunker barge hose handling crane order

The order was booked into Cargotec’s third quarter of 2020 order intake. The bunker barge is expected to be delivered by the end of 2021.

The MacGregor Rapp HP63-13F cranes will handle the hoses that transfer LNG from the barge to the LNG-powered vessel during bunkering operations. The hoses will be 63 ft. long and designed to handle 6,500 lbs. at 42 ft. and 1000 lbs. at 63 ft.

MacGregor has been a longstanding supplier of hose handling cranes for oil tanker barges to Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, and many other barge constructors in the U.S.

MacGregor notes that this is the first pair of cranes to be delivered for an LNG bunkering application.

The barge is being built for Polaris New Energy, a subsidiary of Northstar Midstream. The homeport will be Jacksonville, Florida, USA and operations will service customers along the Florida coast.

“We are glad to select MacGregor as the supplier for our LNG Bunker Barge project’s hose handling cranes. MacGregor’s support prior to order was an important part of our design development. We are confident that these cranes will meet or exceed our customer’s requirements,” says Hugh Haggerty, Project Engineer, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, and a proven reputation of delivering high-quality hose handling cranes to the US barge market,” says John Carnall, Senior Vice President, Global Services Division, MacGregor. “These are the first hose handling cranes that MacGregor will deliver to an LNG bunkering barge, and we have tailored the specification in close cooperation with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding’s engineering group to ensure the exact configuration for the owner’s hose handling operations.”