Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE) announced yesterday the signing of a natural gas/LNG Liquefaction, Regasification, Storage and Loading Services Agreement with Belgium based EXMAR NV.

The Agreement calls for EXMAR to build, operate and maintain a Floating Liquefaction Regasification & Storage Unit (FLRSU) to be located on the Colombian Caribbean coast. The agreement grants wholly owned subsidiary Pacific Stratus Energy Colombia Corp. (PSE) exclusive guaranteed rights to supply and liquefy up to 69.5 MMscf/d (+/- 0.5 million tonnes of LNG per year) over a 15 year period, under a tolling structure.

The FLRSU will have a storage capacity of 14,000 m3 of LNG and will be able to accommodate alongside a 140,000 m3
LNG Floating Storage Unit (FSU). Commercial Operations of the FLRSU are estimated to start in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of PRE commented: “We are very excited with this Agreement as it opens new markets and fast-tracks monetization of the PRE’s extensive natural gas reserves. This leverages PRE’s strategy to explore and develop its large gas resources in northern Colombia, and also reinforces our view that Colombia has enough gas resources to become a reliable LNG supplier for the region.”

As part of the project, PSE will build an 88 km, 18” diameter pipeline from its producing La Creciente Field to the Caribbean coast with an initial design transportation capacity of 100 MM scf/d. Gas for the project will be sourced from La Creciente Field.

With this project the Company will be initially targeting markets of Central America and the Caribbean, aiming to replace fuel oil and diesel currently used for power generation. The project will also open potential industrial and residential market opportunities for natural gas in these countries, while putting in place new incentives to explore and develop the large undiscovered natural gas resources in Colombia.

Nicolas Saverys, CEO of EXMAR, added: “We are proud to assist PRE in reducing the carbon footprint of Central America and the Caribbean. This FLRSU will be the world’s first operational floating LNG production unit. The unique technology on board the unit is the result of EXMAR’s innovative leadership in the LNG industry during the past years. This contract represents the start of a new era for EXMAR.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

More details…via Teekay:

Drivers for Demand of Natural Gas and LNG

Both the consumption of natural gas and demand for LNG have been increasing in recent years due to a number of factors:

• Global economic growth and energy demand are increasing.
• Natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal and oil, encouraging an increase in power plants that run on natural gas.
• Natural gas is widely applicable as a fuel source for power generation, industry and commerce.
• The consumer trend is to greater diversity of fuel sources.
• The natural gas market is undergoing deregulation in several key markets.
• LNG prices have dropped as the cost of liquefaction and regasification have declined. This is due to improved technology, efficiency gains and more competition.
• LNG vessel construction costs have declined, resulting in lower shipping costs.
• Domestic gas production in many areas is insufficient to meet rising energy demand.

A Growing Global Market

• Total demand for natural gas is projected to increase from 3,149 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2008 to 4,535 bcm in 2035. This is a 44% increase over the period at an average annual growth rate of 1.4%.
• 84% of the increase in global gas use in the period to 2035 is expected to come from non-OECD regions. Chinese demand is expected to grow by 5.9% p.a., more than any other region, driven by booming demand in the power, residential and industrial sectors. Demand in the Middle East, non-OECD Asia (in particular India) and Latin America is also expected to grow rapidly over the forecast period.
• Despite much less rapid economic growth, North America and Europe still account for 12% of the expected growth in world gas consumption to 2035. In many cases, gas continues to be the favored choice over coal and oil for environmental reasons, especially in power generation. In Europe, carbon penalties help gas to compete against more carbon-intensive coal in the power sector and heavy industry.
• Inter-regional natural gas trade is projected to increase from 670 bcm in 2008 to 1,187 bcm in 2035. This is a 77% increase over the period at an annual average rate of 2.1%. Trade rises much faster than demand due to the pronounced geographical mismatch between regions of production and consumption.
• The volume of LNG trade is projected to increase from 210 bcm in 2008 to 500 bcm in 2035. The share of LNG in total natural gas trade versus pipelines is projected to grow steadily from 31% in 2008 to 42% in 2035.
• Japan, Korea and India are the biggest Asian importers. In 2009 these countries received about 55 percent of total global LNG trade. Spain, France and the US are the Atlantic Basin’s biggest importers closely followed by the UK. China is currently the world’s ninth largest LNG importer and is expected to become a major buyer of LNG in the future.
• Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia are the biggest producers accounting for 44% of all LNG exports in 2009. Other major producers include Nigeria, Algeria, Australia and Trinidad & Tobago.
• The pattern of global LNG trade is expected to change in the future. Up to now LNG trade has been concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region with gas sourced from Asia and the Middle East. Although this market will continue to expand, LNG demand from the Atlantic basin is also expected to increase.
• As of June 2010 global liquefaction capacity totaled around 360 bcm per year. An additional 77 bcm per year is under construction while a further 500 bcm per year is currently in the planning stage. Australia, Nigeria, Iran and Russia account for 77% of the planned new production capacity, though not all of these projects are expected to come online due to political and economic barriers.
• The global LNG fleet is growing rapidly to meet increasing demand. As of November 2010 there were 360 LNG vessels in service with a further 24 vessels on order
  

  Graphic courtesy Teekay

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In October 2011, Teekay agreed to acquire the Maersk LNG fleet as part of a joint venture with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation.  To finance this $1.4 billion dollar deal, Teekay raised equity via the sale of shares and obtaining debt financing via their banks.  As of yesterday, the acquisition is now complete.

The deal added six modern LNG carriers to Teekay’s fleet, however to further explain the significance of this event and what it means for their growing LNG business, please see the following video featuring Teekay’s Brody Speers, Manager, Strategic Development and Bikramjit Kanjilal, Director, Quality Assurance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

SEOUL (Dow Jones)–STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. (067250.SE) expects the dollar to average KRW1,100 this year and will continue to hedge 70% of the dollar-denominated income it receives as payment from overseas clients primarily through forward dollar sales and some currency swaps, an official said.

The shipbuilder will use the remaining unhedged 30% of its overseas income to buy equipment and materials such as vessel engines and shipbuilding plates that are typically priced in the greenback, Lee Bum-soo, director of STX Offshore’s foreign exchange management team, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.

The Jinhae, South Korea-based shipyard receives most of its revenue from overseas orders in U.S. dollars, although a small portion of the payments consist of other currencies such as the euro or the won. But these are of marginal significance, Lee said, and the company’s overall hedging strategy is based on most payments being made in dollars.

“The dollar-won exchange rate is likely to show a moderate downward bias towards the end of the year but it will likely to remain volatile depending on new developments involving the euro-zone debt crisis,” Lee said. STX Offshore has based its plans on expectations that the dollar will be at KRW1,100, unchanged from the past two years.

The dollar averaged KRW1,153.30 in 2011, while it traded at KRW1,129.00 on Thursday.

STX Offshore set its global order target at $15 billion this year, sharply up from last year when actual orders totaled $8.2 billion. It expects liquefied natural gas carriers and offshore facilities to account for a large portion of the orders this year as oil prices surge.

In its recent report, Norway’s Pareto Securities forecast there will be 40 orders for LNG ships each year through 2020. Demand for LNG is on the rise in the wake of stricter regulations on environment pollution and the nuclear power plant incident caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year.

As of Feb 24, STX has an accumulated order backlog of $23.4 billion, or 277 ships, which will keep its shipyards in South Korea, China and Europe busy for the next three years.

So far this year, the company has received orders valued at $900 million globally, or 3.8% of the annual order target. In major contracts, it will build two LNG ships worth $400 million for Russia’s Sovcomflot by early 2015 and six product carriers valued at $210 million for Europe-based John Fredriksen by the end of 2013. The ships will be built in the Jinhae yard.

“We have not received the initial payments for the two separate orders from the clients (Sovcomflot and John Fredriksen) but we expect they will make a down payment soon,” Lee said, without disclosing the remaining payment schedules for the contracts.

He said as overseas customers still suffer from financing problems due to the euro-zone debt crisis, they prefer to make a bigger payment at a later stage in a “heavy tail” deal. “It is a buyer’s market though we expect the number of heavy-tail contracts to decrease if the Europe debt crisis eases.”

The company’s competitiveness stems from the fact that it manufactures ships at locations around the world, unlike its local rivals, which mostly have facilities in Korea.

The world’s fourth-largest shipbuilder by order backlog makes small- and medium-sized commercial ships in its shipyard in Dalian in China, high-end large ships in Jinhae, and luxury cruise ships and offshore support vessels in Europe.

-By Kyong-Ae Choi, Dow Jones Newswires

By Sean Bond, ABS Director of Environmental Solutions

The potential of LNG to be a ‘fuel of the future’ for the shipping industry is a subject we hear about almost daily. There is no doubt that LNG ticks the box in terms of emissions reductions compared to conventional fossil fuels. But the expansion of LNG as a fuel into the mainstream shipping industry throws up a combination of technological and regulatory challenges that the industry must address.

To some extent, this already is happening. ABS has provided insight over the past year on the drivers for adopting LNG as a fuel, examining the Classification issues of technology, safety and the regulatory framework, and we definitely see there is interest.

LNG as a fuel is not new. What is changing is the scope and scale of application as LNG as fuel grows beyond its traditional role on LNG Carriers and its use on a limited number of small ferries during the past decade.

Expanding the application to new vessels types in diverse configurations has created a need for construction and arrangement requirements as well as standards to maintain existing levels of safety in the shipping segments using the new fuel. That’s where we come in. As a Class Society our mission is to provide for the safety of life, property and the natural environment.

On the regulatory front, the fact that LNG fuelled projects are moving forward for uses other than traditional LNG carriers means Class Rules have had to evolve ahead of global regulation. For example, while the IMO has issued Interim Guidelines on Safety for Natural Gas Fuelled Engines on Ships ABS has issued its Guide for Propulsion and Auxiliary Systems for Gas Fuelled Ships in May 2011, which incorporates elements of those guidelines as well as additional needed criteria not yet specified in the IMO Guidelines.

On the regulatory side, the next step will be to complete the International Code of Safety for Gas Fuelled Ships, but its completion and ratification are not expected before 2014. In the interim, Class will continue to support owners, designers and shipyards as they determine what the concepts will mean to them.

Having recognized a need not just for Classification Rules and their interpretation, but also for recognized standards supporting the application and use of the technology, the industry is making progress developing standards with the International Standards Organization on LNG bunkering.

Today, LNG fuels a fleet of more than 380 LNG carriers, most of which burn part of their cargo as fuel, and a further fleet of some 22 small LNG-powered vessels. , However, technical and other questions remain as to the suitability of LNG fuel for specific projects. As a result, concept designs and newbuilding plans must be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on their intended operating profile, fuel availability, commercial feasibility and several other issues. As projects begin to be realized, project developers will better understand the usefulness of the concepts to their own circumstances.

Major issues include the question of LNG bunker supply and demand. LNG bunker suppliers rely on demand to develop the supply infrastructure, while operators and owners require a supply before investing in a vessel that relies on that supply. In addition, the costs of bunkering an LNG vessel are not necessarily known as there is not a large existing market for small volumes of LNG to be used on gas fuelled ships.

And as emission regulations for all ships continue to tighten, the cost and availability of alternatives to ordinary heavy fuel oil, including LNG, potentially will change over the coming decade. All of this has to be weighted against the relative capital expenditure among competing fuel type concepts.

In many ways, the questions around LNG fuel supply are similar to those for low sulphur fuel oil: How good is security of supply?, Where are the bunkering locations?, How good is the availability? and What is the cost? Theseare the same questions that were asked about today’s commonly used fuels before they became widely accepted.

Regarding the fuel itself, owners also need to understand both its properties and handling. LNG is a mixture, not a homogenous product. It has different compositions, which result in variable properties.  The energy in each cubic meter and the methane number can impact the volume of fuel required and the way the fuel is handled as well as engine performance.

Other items to consider include the power profile of the vessel and to what degree it operates below or at maximum power, an issue engine manufacturers already are addressing.

This does not means the technology issues cannot be overcome. Instead, using LNG as a fuel becomes an issue of design and suitability on a project-by-project basis rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

To address these issues, ABS has completed joint development projects with South Korean shipyards on large vessel designs and worked with owners including AP Moller-Maersk on the practical implications of LNG as a fuel on the current and next generation of large containerships.

In addition, Harvey Gulf International Marine has selected ABS as the class society for its two new dual fuelled LNG-powered offshore supply vessels being constructed at Trinity Offshore LLC for operation in the Gulf of Mexico.

Projects like this reinforce the argument that a move toward LNG as fuel could happen more quickly than has been anticipated. If we start to see positive operational results and compelling economic results on early projects, the move towards LNG fuel could come quickly.

For ships operating mainly in the IMO’s ECAs, LNG could be a very attractive option, and here we are talking about as soon as 2015 and 2020 or 2025, depending on how the IMO judges low-sulphur fuel availability. That in turn could lead to a ramping up of bunkering infrastructure, further strengthening the argument in favour of LNG.

Of course, this too will have its consequences. Training – and who will train the crew who will be handling this bunker fuel – is an important issue which needs to be addressed. The ISO bunkering standard mentioned above will help, and ABS is also developing training resources around this issue, but this is something the industry should take note of.

The success of the LNG industry in training crews to handle the product safely and in increasing ship size as demand has grown shows these challenges can be overcome. How LNG as a fuel works in this new environment is a somewhat different question. With many more gas-powered vessels in operation, the level of risk potentially is increased, so these risks have to be addressed and mitigated.

The use of LNG as fuel by the mainstream shipping industry is a journey rather than a destination. The role of ABS has remained the same since its founding 150 years ago; to promote the security of life, property and the marine environment, in particular when the maritime industry embarks in a new direction.

Sean Bond is Director, Environmental Solutions within the European Division of ABS.  Sean is a Graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.  He joined ABS in 1989 as an Engineer in the Paramus, New Jersey office. Since then Bond’s ABS career has involved working in New York, Pusan and London in increasingly senior engineering positions. He has experience in rule development, design review and classification of various ship types, and accumulated specialist knowledge in the classification of tankers and gas carriers in particular. His current position, as Director, Environmental Solutions, involves close contact with the maritime industry throughout Europe, serving as a link between new environmental technology, emerging industry needs and environmental related developments in ABS.

Qatar Shipping Company, represented by Mr. K. K. Kothari, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Shipping, and Dr. Salem bin Nasser Al-Naemi, Executive Vice President – Support Services, Milaha Group, recently signed an agreement in Copenhagen to buy Maersk LNG’s 15% stake (out of their total holding of 26%) in two LNG Carriers, Maersk Ras Laffan and Maersk Qatar.  With this acquisition the stake of Q Ship in these two carriers will increase to 40%.

Pursuant to this acquisition these two ships will be renamed Milaha Ras Laffan and Milaha Qatar.  Q Ship will be the Manager of these ships which are on long term charter to Ras Gas and will continue to be on this charter for the next 19 years.  Pronav, a German Company will be the technical operator.

His Excellency Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al-Thani, Chairman & Managing Director of Milaha Group said that he was very pleased with this acquisition which will significantly benefit the Milaha Group over a very long period of time.

Today, Milaha has become a large, diversified strategic holding company with core interests in various maritime transport sectors as well as logistics.  Yet as diverse as the company has become, it has always succeeded through unity and synergy: every part working together for the good of the whole through shared values and ethics.

About Milaha
The company was established in July 1957, as the first public shareholding company registered in Qatar and holds commercial registration no. 1.  The aim in establishing the company was stimulating growth in the Qatari economy through the provision of shipping, transportation, and cargo handling services necessary to link Qatar with the rest of the world.  The company has since evolved, expanded and diversified into maritime transportation in gas, petroleum products, containers and bulk; offshore support services; port management; logistics services; shipyard; trading agencies;  real estate; and asset management.

Viking Energy, an LNG-powered offshore supply boat – Courtesy of Eidesvik

DNV has won a contract with the Flemish government to undertake a feasibility study for the provision of LNG bunkering facilities at the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Ghent in Belgium.

The work will consist of a market survey, a risk and safety analysis, and modeling of the logistics, legal and regulatory requirements needed to establish LNG bunkering infrastructure at the ports. Hazard identification and quantitative risk analysis are key components of DNV’s service and this scope of work covers not only people at the port but the wider community and natural environment.

“The Flemish ports authorities are optimistic about the potential for safe and efficient LNG bunkering operations and DNV’s multi-disciplinary analysis will help them move forward confidently,” says Mohamed Houari, DNV Head of Solutions for Central Europe.

Burning LNG as fuel reduces SOx and particulate emissions by 100%, NOx emissions by approximately 90% and CO2 emissions by approximately 20% compared to heavy fuel oil use.

“Shipowners are working hard to meet the increasingly strict emissions requirements of the Baltic and North Seas and ports are now responding as the popularity of LNG is becoming apparent,” says Torgeir Sterri, DNV Regional Manager Central Europe.

Currently, there are 22 LNG-fueled ships in operation – all classed by DNV. In addition DNV has 18 signed newbuilding contracts and 3 ships scheduled to be converted for LNG fuel.

By 2020 it is anticipated that the majority of new ships will use LNG as fuel, especially short-sea ships operating in Emission Control Areas such as the waters of Belgium. Signs of recognition of this growing market have been seen right across Northern Europe. Norway has so far been the frontrunner, but late October contracts were signed in Brunsbüttel in Germany too where a decision was made to offer bunkering of LNG in the Elbehafen.

The latest contract with the Flemish Government in Belgium is another important step towards promoting LNG as an environmental friendly and available fuel for ships.

DNV has been involved in several projects for LNG import terminals in Europe including Rotterdam’s GATE terminal and has also contributed to ‘A feasibility study for an LNG filling station infrastructure and test of recommendations’ published in October 2011 by the Danish Maritime Authority.

A prerequisite for the widespread use of LNG in shipping globally is a functional and standardized bunkering infrastructure and DNV heads the ISO working group tasked with the development of internationally agreed guidelines.

- By Per Wiggo Richardsen, Det Norske Veritas

The Ice-classed LNG carrier, Ribera del Duero Knutsen, owned by Knutsen OAS Shipping

*Editor’s Note: Changed title to include Northeast Passage, not Northwest Passage as was originally reported.

OSLO (Dow Jones)–Russia has for the first time authorized a Liquefied Natural Gas tanker to sail through its Arctic waters from Europe to high-demand Asian markets, a route that requires about half the usual sailing time, potentially reduces costs and avoids the threat from Somali pirates.

Russia authorized the tanker Ribera del Duera Knutsen to sail along the Northern sea route from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific ocean, Norwegian shipping company Knutsen OAS Shipping said.

In September, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that he sees the future of the Northeast Passage “as that of an international transport artery” able to compete with other maritime routes on both fees, safety and quality.

From Europe, the route is a much shorter way to the Far East than sailing across the Mediterranean Sea and through the Suez Canal, which requires ships to sail through the ‘pirate alley’ in the Gulf of Aden north of Somalia.

It would save a lot of time and money, Knutsen’s Chartering Manager John Einar Dalsvag said, as current LNG rates are at a very high level of about $150,000 a day, so “days are expensive.”

Using the shorter Northern route means sailing in icy Arctic waters from the Barents Sea along Siberia to the Bering Strait, then on to Japan or other countries in the Far East.

Japan’s demand for LNG has climbed sharply after an earthquake and a tsunami knocked out several nuclear power plants in 2011. In December, only seven out of Japan’s 54 nuclear power plants were in operation because of safety concerns. Electricity production has largely been replaced by thermal power plants.

The LNG tanker’s journey along the Northern sea route to Japan would take about 20 days, according to Knutsen OAS Shipping, based in Haugesund, Norway. Due to the icy conditions, the ship must sail the route at some time between June and October, according to the company.

However, the company said the authorization only means the journey is technically possible, as it hasn’t yet signed any contract to deliver LNG by this route.

The Ribera del Duera Knutsen is the only LNG tanker with ICE-1A class notation from classification society Det Norske Veritas, which means it can handle ice thickness of up to 0.8 meters, according to the company.

Knutsen OAS Shipping has “studied all risks”, says Dalsvag, adding that such a journey would require two Russian icebreakers to accompany the ship.

The company said it hasn’t yet calculated what this would cost, or how much time and fuel this route would save them compared to the longer trip through the Suez Canal.

-By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland, Dow Jones Newswires

GG: The world is getting more complicated – and regulatory compliance is a significant challenge. New regulations, regional differences and higher fuel bills have created a new paradigm.  Shipowners are looking for solutions to high ol prices and the need to reduce environmental impact.

GG:  The IMO.  The International Maritime Organization is setting regulations because they want to make sure that it’s a logical, international program rather than one that is addressed on local levels, which can be a little bit more confusing and complicated.  That doesn’t mean that local states can’t decide to make things more stringent. They have been doing a very good job and they have some very difficult issues to handle, maintaining a level playing field and fair treatment for all.

Energy efficiency is very important and it’s a good focus because it not only makes companies more sustainable in the future, it also makes them economically sustainable in the short term.  It allows them to stay in business, save a lot of money and reduce their impact on the environment.

It’s not business-as-usual.

We’re not going to operate the same way we did five years ago, and it’s changing very quickly.  You have to be able to look five or 10 years down the road and say, ‘ok, do I want to develop and modify my fleet so that it’s competitive in five years, or do I want to do the bare minimum, making my fleet obsolete very soon because it won’t be able to compete with the more efficient vessels or comply with the demands of society’?”

GG: Possibly.

RA:  But we’re still in the gigaton range when it comes to the amount of CO2 emitted by the global shipping industry.

GG:  Yes, but you need to look at what your trade transport options are.  Merchant shipping comes out on top, of course, because it moves 90% of world trade by volume. In actuality, it emits a very low CO2 volume per ton-kilometre, which is a more accurate accounting of relative contributions to global emissions.  What shipping companies need to consider is: “is there a way to streamline my operations to make them more fuel efficient”?

If they are able to identify that and make appropriate changes, they will have a lot to be proud of.

RA: I understand you came from the cruise line industry over to Lloyd’s Register fairly recently.  One of the big topics in the commercial maritime industry is the use of LNG … are cruise lines looking at using LNG as a fuel?

GG: Nothing is off the table for anybody these days.  It’s of course very daunting to look at the infrastructure and some of the associated challenges of LNG propulsion and, also, what do your stakeholders really think about LNG on cruise ships?  So they need to look at that and balance it.  I think they are all looking at different options and they are willing to try a lot of different methods to be compliant.

LNGC Celestine River, Image courtesy K Line LNG

RA:  You have ferries that carry a couple hundred cars full of gasoline, and it seems ridiculous that people are afraid of having LNG on board considering it’s far less volatile than gasoline.  Where did this misconception come from and how do we get past this?

JF: I wish I could give you a pithy response, but the truth is that incidents in the past have allowed people with little knowledge of the industry to show pictures or make simple statements to the detriment of the industry.  In one case in the ‘40s, an LNG tank  in Cleveland collapsed due to the poor cryogenic strength of the steel.  The LNG ran into the sewers and the vapors rose into the homes.  Several fires ensued, killing many families and leaving the area looking like it had been bombed.  That couldn’t happen today because the sewer systems are designed differently and the metallurgy of the materials used in LNG tanks allows it to withstand the cryogenic temperatures it may be exposed to.

Right after 9-11, an enterprising reporter determined that the loaded LNG ship in Boston held the same amount of energy that was released by the Hiroshima atomic bomb.  The math was correct, but the time it would take to release of the energy — that was never mentioned — would be about a nanosecond for the bomb and maybe a month for the ship.  But, it was a quick answer and it stuck.

Despite the nay-sayers, the LNG industry will continue to use the best science and technical engineering for construction, the best risk-analysis tools for operation and the best training available.  The dedicated men and women that build and operate LNG facilities of all sorts are providing this country with a cleaner and more efficient energy [than heavy fuel oils].

It’s pretty hard to be against that.

LNG is an exciting fuel with great potential in certain applications.  It’s not necessarily the fuel of the future, but it’s certainly a fuel of the future.

Ginger Garte, Environmental Business Development Manager – Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc.

Ginger has been active in the marine industry for over 18 years.  She obtained her Geology degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and in 1994 was selected to serve as a U.S. Commissioned Officer with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Upon completion of Officer Training School, Ginger served for five years onboard NOAA’s research vessels and at shore side laboratories. She worked as superintendent for seven years at Carnival Cruise Line’s in the Environmental Health and Safety Department and as the senior analyst for five years at Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, within the Environmental Stewardship Department.  Now at Lloyd’s Register, North America, Inc., Ginger is primarily responsible for meeting clients’ environmental needs throughout the industry.

The LNG ship will be delivered to the shipper by February 2015, said a spokesman for STX Group, who didn’t identify the client’s name.

-By Kyong-Ae Choi, Dow Jones Newswires