Woodside Energy has granted a contract worth more than $300m (A$419.4m) to Green Tug Towing (GTT) for the design and construction of four tugboats for its Louisiana liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the US.
Green Tug Towing is a newly established joint venture between Harbor Docking & Towing and Saltchuk Marine.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The vessels, which will be constructed at the C&C Marine and Repair shipyard in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, are expected to be delivered to the Louisiana LNG facility in 2028.
The tugboats will support LNG tankers visiting the Louisiana LNG terminal under a 20-year arrangement.
The contract to Green Tug Towing brings the total value of Woodside and its contractors’ spending with Louisiana suppliers for the base development of the Louisiana LNG project to more than $1bn.
Woodside took a final investment decision on the project nearly a year ago, approving an initial capacity of 16.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) across three trains. The facility is designed for further expansion with two additional trains and is fully permitted for a total capacity of 27.6mtpa.
Woodside executive vice-president and international chief operating officer Daniel Kalms said: “This contract is an important milestone for Louisiana LNG and demonstrates our commitment to investing in Louisiana.
“As we progress towards targeted first LNG in 2029, Green Tug Towing will play a key role in ensuring Louisiana LNG can safely deliver reliable supply to our global customers. This contract also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to supporting local suppliers and growing the shipbuilding industry in Louisiana.”
The new vessels will be built according to Robert Allan’s RApport 2800H design, an advanced escort tug platform. They are purpose-built for modern LNG terminal operations and designed to meet stringent safety, manoeuvrability and environmental requirements.
The tugboats are expected to feature advanced diesel-electric hybrid propulsion to reduce fuel consumption and emissions during standby operations, harbour transits and low-speed manoeuvring.
They will also be engineered to provide high indirect steering forces and strong bollard pull to safely handle the largest LNG carriers.
In addition, the hull form and fendering will be optimised for LNG berth operations as well as ship-assist missions.
GTT will oversee the build programme in Belle Chasse and run a tug base in Lake Charles for operational support.
Construction activities are set to commence in the second quarter of 2026.
The contract is projected to create around 70 direct jobs for local workers, along with 30 additional related roles, and roughly 60 temporary construction positions at C&C Marine and Repair.
C&C Marine and Repair president Tony Cibilich said: “C&C Marine and Repair is proud to partner on a project that showcases the capabilities of Louisiana shipbuilding. With this award, our current tugboat construction programme for Woodside and Harbor Docking & Towing projects now totals eight vessels in Belle Chasse.
“We are honoured to build these tugboats in Louisiana and support the continued growth of maritime jobs, industrial investment and vessel construction expertise in our state.”
