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Towage Provision for LNG is Proving a Sensitive Issue at Milford Haven
01 Oct 2006
With work on the necessary jetties and other facilities proceeding apace and the commencement of LNG shipments into Milford Haven moving ever nearer, speculation is growing as to the form supporting towage services will take. Two separate LNG plants are under construction at Waterstone and South Hook. Towage requirements for both plants have been subject to tender and at the time of writing the long awaited decisions have not been announced.
Press reports quoting comments made by Mr Ted Sangster, chief executive of Milford Port Authority at a local business showcase indicate that the final number of brand new tugs eventually arriving in the port to serve the two LNG jetties will be between six and ten. He estimated that in total, there could be 100 new marine jobs created from the increase in the number of tugs and line boats, adding that new tugs will be arriving in the Haven at about this time next year.
Of the two sites, that occupied by South Hook LNG will utilise the former Esso jetty located towards the seaward end of the port, upgraded and adapted for the purpose. A spokesman for South Hook LNG said, ‘Once Phase 2 of the South Hook project is up and running in the winter of 2008/2009, we will have one LNG vessel arriving at the South Hook jetty every two and a half days. We will require five new tugs to handle these vessels, plus two line running boats and mooring gangs. Each tug will have a crew of around four. The award of any tug contract is a commercially sensitive matter but our preference would be, with everything else being equal, that the contract went to a local company.’
The other company involved, Dragon LNG, will occupy the facilities upstream at Waterstone formerly used by Petroplus. At present the towage requirements for this plant are unclear and it is not known whether a pooling arrangement within the port will be viable or acceptable. Towage at Milford Haven oil terminals is currently provided by a fleet of four tugs operated by Svitzer Marine Ltd. This fleet carries out both berthing and escort work with very large tankers delivering crude oil to the local refineries. It is almost certain that the LNG companies will require dedicated tugs fleets and escort tugs with a high specification.
By JACK GASTON
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