Posted:
January 26, 2012
Last week, the M/V Ocean Freedom loaded a 302-ton heat exchanger in Fairless Hills, Pa., for shipment to Papua, New Guinea.
The heat exchanger, produced in nearby Allentown, Pa., is not made anywhere else in the world. The U.S. Export-Import Bank helped finance the export of this equipment to New Guinea, where it will serve as the heart of a liquefied natural gas facility, cooling natural gas to a liquid state for transport.
The Export-Import Bank is the nation's official export credit agency, supporting the export of U.S. goods and services around the world. Project cargoes covered by loan guarantees issued by the Ex-Im Bank totaling more than $20 million or lasting more than seven years are subject to a U.S. cargo preference statute, which requires these cargoes to be carried exclusively by U.S.-flagged vessels.
"The cargo preference requirement assures that, as a nation, we maintain a strong and versatile U.S. merchant marine, a thriving job base for American mariners and the resources to transport unique, expensive and sensitive equipment," said AMO National Executive Vice President Bob Kiefer. "AMO is proud to be part of this operation."
The loading of the heat exchanger required extreme skill and precision, as the 14,000-ton vessel lifted the 302-ton cargo from the dock. In the initial stages, the Ocean Freedom released ballast to tip the vessel away from the cargo, lifting the heat exchanger off the dock. Then two of the ship's cranes, in conjunction with ballasting movements, allowed the crew and crane operators to maneuver the 150-foot long cargo into the hull. The Ocean Freedom is expected to transport a second heat exchanger later this year.
The Ocean Freedom is operated for Intermarine affiliate US Ocean LLC by Crowley Liner Services and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.
M/V Ocean Freedom loads heat exchanger for shipment under cargo preference
Last week, the M/V Ocean Freedom loaded a 302-ton heat exchanger in Fairless Hills, Pa., for shipment to Papua, New Guinea.
The heat exchanger, produced in nearby Allentown, Pa., is not made anywhere else in the world. The U.S. Export-Import Bank helped finance the export of this equipment to New Guinea, where it will serve as the heart of a liquefied natural gas facility, cooling natural gas to a liquid state for transport.
The Export-Import Bank is the nation's official export credit agency, supporting the export of U.S. goods and services around the world. Project cargoes covered by loan guarantees issued by the Ex-Im Bank totaling more than $20 million or lasting more than seven years are subject to a U.S. cargo preference statute, which requires these cargoes to be carried exclusively by U.S.-flagged vessels.
"The cargo preference requirement assures that, as a nation, we maintain a strong and versatile U.S. merchant marine, a thriving job base for American mariners and the resources to transport unique, expensive and sensitive equipment," said AMO National Executive Vice President Bob Kiefer. "AMO is proud to be part of this operation."
The loading of the heat exchanger required extreme skill and precision, as the 14,000-ton vessel lifted the 302-ton cargo from the dock. In the initial stages, the Ocean Freedom released ballast to tip the vessel away from the cargo, lifting the heat exchanger off the dock. Then two of the ship's cranes, in conjunction with ballasting movements, allowed the crew and crane operators to maneuver the 150-foot long cargo into the hull. The Ocean Freedom is expected to transport a second heat exchanger later this year.
The Ocean Freedom is operated for Intermarine affiliate US Ocean LLC by Crowley Liner Services and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.