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Shane Guidry, the CEO of the U.S. offshore services firm Harvey Gulf, announced Friday that he has purchased all of his company's shares in an associated LNG transport venture, Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport (Q-LNG). Before the transaction, Guidry held a majority 70 percent stake in QLNG, and he now holds 100 percent. <\/p>\n
“Q-LNG didn’t quite fit into Harvey’s core business and future,” said Guidry in a statement. “At Harvey, we are focused on growing globally, which we’ve done over the last 12 months. Today, we have vessels working in Mexico, Trinidad, Peru, Guyana, Suriname, the U.S, and Nigeria. Next year, we plan to be working in the Mediterranean and Angola, as well. To be truthful, I don’t know of another company that has successfully moved into seven countries in one year with contracts, opened offices, hired qualified staff, and sustained no lost time incidents or accidents . . . As for Q-LNG, I will continue to manage her within Harvey.”<\/p>\n
Q-LNG's first vessel, an LNG-carrying ATB tug and barge unit, is now under construction at VT Halter. The vessel will be operated under charter to Shell for the purpose of bunkering two new LNG-fueled Carnival cruise ships. A naming ceremony for the new ATB unit was held in October, and delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of next year. <\/p>\n
“No other company has an ATB this close to delivery,” Guidry said at the naming ceremony. “Q-LNG is focused and dedicated to deliver extremely safe transit to all the ports it will service, and we are committed to being a leader in the development of LNG infrastructure in the United States and abroad.”<\/p>\n
Wärtsilä is providing a substantial fraction of the equipment for both the tug and the barge. For the barge, Wärtsilä will supply the cargo handling, cargo control, and cargo containment systems as well as automation onboard. For the tug, the company is supplying all of the bridge navigation, communications, automation and dynamic positioning equipment. <\/p>\n