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Isla Bella and her sister ship Perla del Caribe are the world's first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered container ships. Isla Bella is currently used as part of the Florida-Puerto Rico trade, sailing out of Jacksonville, Florida and arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico on a weekly basis. Both ships were built by NASSCO for TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico and replaced the last of the Ponce-class ships that were previously used for the route. They cost US$324 million to build and each is propelled by a single slow-speed engine capable of 25,191 kW at 104 rpm, which propels the ships at a maximum speed of 22 knots.[citation needed]
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Isla Bella |
| Owner | TOTE Maritime[1] |
| Operator | TOTE Services |
| Port of registry | United States |
| Route | Jacksonville, Florida to Puerto Rico |
| Builder | National Steel and Shipbuilding Company |
| Christened | 18 April 2015[2] |
| Completed | October 2015 |
| Maiden voyage | 18 April 2015[2] |
| In service | 19 October 2015[3] |
| Identification | |
| Status | Operational |
| Notes | [4] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Marlin |
| Tonnage | 36,751 GT |
| Length | 764 feet |
| Beam | 106 feet |
Isla Bella has a length of 764 feet and is 106 feet in width. It has a capacity of 3,100 TEU but can carry 20-foot, 30-foot, 40-foot, 45-foot and 53-foot containers. Isla Bella was christened on April 18 before a crowd of 3,400 people. The name Isla Bella is Spanish for “beautiful island”. The name of the vessel comes from Paola Dominguez as part of a partnership with The Puerto Rico Boys & Girls Club and TOTE.[citation needed]
Engine and fuel
editIsla Bella's engine is powered by a single slow-speed MAN B&W 8L70ME-GI dual fuel gas engine.[5] This engine operates on a mixture of LNG and diesel fuel oil, the latter of which is used to ignite the natural gas. The engines are designed to run on as little as 3 percent pilot oil. The result is a 97 percent reduction in sulfur oxides and a 98 percent nitrogen oxide reduction in particulate matter coming from the exhausts.[6] To fuel this engine two 900 cubic meter cryogenic tanks are located aft of the house. The combined weight of these two tanks is 760 tons. These eighty-four-foot-long tanks hold a combined total of 475,000 gallons of LNG.[citation needed]
For the first few years, the ship was refueled from trucks. As of 2018, a dedicated LNG bunker barge and a LNG liquefication plant are being built for the Isla Bella and Perla del Caribe.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Schuler, Mike (19 April 2015). "Introducing ISLA BELLA – World's First LNG-Powered Containership Launched at NASSCO". gCaptain.
- ^ a b "Isla Bella Christening". YouTube. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Coast Guard certifies El Faro's replacement". 19 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Isla Bella". VesselTracker. 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ ""ME-GI Dual Fuel MAN B&W Engines A Technical, Operational and Cost-effective Solution for Ships Fuelled by Gas"" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-04-05.
- ^ Miller, Rich (November 9, 2015). "Isla Bella". professionalmariner. Retrieved 2018-03-26.