Or will, as usual, be FoC, with us deep sea sailors left with our thumbs up our backsides, watching foreigners waltz away with our national wealth + jobs? This is where an union is required the most.
NYK Line Orders New LNG Carriers to Ship U.S. LNG Exports
Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) has followed up with an order for two new liquified natural gas carriers that will be used to transport U.S.-produced natural gas from the the Cameron LNG export facility beginning in 2018.
NYK Line ordered the ships after sealing time-charter agreements with Singapore-based Diamond Gas International. The vessels will be constructed by MI LNG Company Limited, a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Imabari Shipbuilding Co. at MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works yard in Japan. Delivery of the vessels is scheduled for 2018.
The new carriers will be based on the new Moss type Sayaringo-series design, featuring four apple-shaped tanks for greater carrying capacity, an integrated tank cover and a hull structure that reduces ship weight and air resistance. The vessels will also be equipped with a hybrid “STaGE” propulsion system that combines a steam turbine and dual fuel engines that can be fired by gas, cutting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Cameron LNG, LLC is currently constructing the new export facility at its existing LNG terminal near Hackberry, Louisiana. The company has already obtained U.S. approval to export up to 1.7 billion cubic feet per day (12 million tons per year) of domestically produced LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries in Europe and Asia. It has also requested federal approval to increase the number of LNG liquefaction trains from three to five and to add storage, which would increase export capacity at the terminal. Commercial operations are expected begin in early to late 2018.
Cameron LNG Holdings, LLC is a joint venture between Sempra Energy, GDF SUEZ S.A., Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Japan LNG Investment, LLC, a joint venture formed by affiliates of Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK Line.
The 2 vessel-order follows an earlier contract MHI signed with Mitsui & Co in January calling for the construction of two new LNG carriers, which will also be used to transport gas from the Cameron LLC facility.
NYK Line Vessel Characteristics:
[ul]
[li]Cargo tank capacity: about 165,000 cubic meters [/li]> [li]Gross tonnage: about 146,200 tonsLength overall: about 293.5 meters [/li]> [li]Breadth: 48.94 meters [/li]> [li]Main engine: STaGE (Steam Turbine and Gas Engines) [/li]> [li]Speed: 19.5 knots [/li]> [li]Shipbuilder: Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. [/li]> [li]Delivery: 2018 (scheduled) [/li]> [/ul]
If John Garamendi and Duncan Hunter get any traction with this legislation these would have to be US flagged but something makes me think it is going to be business as usual in Washingtoon D(istritct) of C(lowns)
[B]Garamendi plans bill to force LNG exports on U.S. ships [/B]
By Jennifer Scholtes
4/9/15
Rep. John Garamendi tells MT that he expects to introduce a bill in the next month that would force liquefied natural gas exporters to use U.S.-built ships and American sailors. The congressman, who is set to give a speech this afternoon about the idea at a maritime industry conference in Northern California, argues that U.S. national security depends on revival of the Merchant Marine and on the U.S. shipbuilding industry being able to sustain the demand for military ships. “Build the ships in America, in American shipyards, and put American sailors on the ships,” he told us. “We’re probably looking at 100 — maybe 200 — or more ships over the next 20 years that could be built in the United States if we were to write 16 lines of law. That’s all it takes. … It will not happen unless Congress acts.”
Republican support: The Democratic congressman says he is crafting the bill along with some of his Republican counterparts, and that a GOP lawmaker may even be the lead sponsor. “There’s a significant number of Republican members of Congress that represent the shipyards that could be building these ships,” he said. “I’ve talked to them, and they have an interest in the legislation, and they may carry the legislation. … You’re going to see this happening. This is a big deal for the United States shipbuilders and the Merchant Marine. There’s a lot of support out there, so we can make it happen.”
Previous attempts: Rep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of T&I’s subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, partnered with Garamendi last Congress in introducing a bill that would require DOT to create a program for promoting LNG exports on U.S.-flag vessels and to give top priority to processing licenses for facilities at deep-water ports that will export on American ships. Garamendi also tried earlier this year to amend an LNG permitting bill with language that would force the use of U.S. flagged vessels until 2020 and the use of U.S.-built and flagged vessels thereafter.
Unfortunately it looks like it will be business as usual and I am certain with both of these ships being built in Japan the only time 'old Glory will be flying is when they come into US ports.
[QUOTE=c.captain;162203]If John Garamendi and Duncan Hunter get any traction with this legislation these would have to be US flagged but something makes me think it is going to be business as usual in Washingtoon D(istritct) of C(lowns)[/QUOTE]
You would have to know whether such a law runs afoul of the many international trade agreements to which the US is party. Many treaties are quite old, some are newer. The US has carved some exceptions into more recent agreements, such as the US build requirement for Jones Act under World Trade Organization rules. Whether there is any exception for something like this would require knowing the wording of the treaties.
10 posts were split to a new topic: Unions, Jones Act and Protectionism