San Diego shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO on Saturday celebrated the launch of the Isla Bella, the world’s first LNG-powered containership.

More than 3,400 have been in attendance on the launch ceremony, together with the shipbuilders, their households, business stakeholders and the general public. The identify of the vessel was additionally revealed through the ceremony.

The ship’s identify, Isla Bella, was chosen from a contest hosted in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico. Isla Bella interprets to lovely island in English and can function a reminder of the cultural and financial significance of the ships.

The ship’s sponsor, Mrs. Sophie Sacco, spouse of Michael Sacco, president of the Seafarers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO, had the distinction of christening the ship with the standard champagne bottle break over the hull.

Here’s some video of the launch:

The containership is a part of a two-ship contract with TOTE, Inc., a number one logistics and transportation firm primarily based in Jacksonville, Florida. The new ships, often known as the Marlin Class, would be the first liquefied pure fuel (LNG) powered containerships on the planet and can present Jones Act delivery providers from Jacksonville, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The 3,100 TEU ship’s are designed by DSEC, a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea. The design is predicated on confirmed containership-design requirements and embrace DSME’s patented LNG fuel-gas system and a single MAN B&W 8L70ME-GI dual-fuel gas-powered engine. The ME-GI engine will primarily function on LNG, which is able to assist the make the vessels among the many most environmentally pleasant containerships on the planet. The engine itself can also be important as a result of it marked the primary industrial set up of the brand new ME-GI engine – a dual-fuel, low-speed two stroke from MAN Diesel and Turbo.

The ships are every geared up with two 900 cubic meter cryogenic tanks weighing 380 tons every, which might be used to retailer the LNG gasoline onboard the ships.

By switching to LNG, TOTE is lowering NOx emissions by 98 p.c, SOx by 97 p.c, carbon dioxide by 72 and particulate matter by 60 p.c within the Puerto Rico commerce.

Full Coverage: TOTE’s Marlin-Class

Delivery of the Isla Bella is predicted for the This autumn 2015, adopted by the second ship within the Q1 2016. The vessels will function below constitution agreements with Sea Star Line LLC.

The launch of the Isla Bella additionally marked the one centesimal ship launch for NASSCO.

TOTE’s contract with NASSCO contains choices for as much as three further ships.

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