Woodside Orders Four Tugs for Louisiana LNG

Woodside Energy has awarded a services contract to Green Tug Towing – a joint venture of Harbor Docking & Towing and Saltchuk Marine – for the design and construction of four new tugs to be built at C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chase, Louisiana, and delivered to Louisiana LNG in 2028.

With this award, valued at more than $300 million, Woodside and its contractors have now committed more than $1 billion to Louisiana suppliers for the foundational development of the Louisiana LNG project.

The tugs will provide towing services for LNG tankers calling at the Louisiana LNG terminal over a 20-year term. Green Tug Towing will manage construction of the vessels in Belle Chasse and operate a tug facility in Lake Charles to support ongoing operations. 

C&C Marine and Repair held a keel laying ceremony at its Belle Chasse shipyard on April 17 for the four advanced hybrid escort tugs. The vessels will be built to Robert Allan Ltd.’s RApport 2800H design which is specifically engineered to meet the safety, maneuverability, and environmental requirements of modern LNG terminal operations.

The tugs will feature diesel-electric hybrid propulsion systems that deliver meaningful reductions in fuel consumption and emissions during standby, harbor transit, and low-speed maneuvering, alongside high-performance indirect steering forces and bollard pull engineered to safely handle the world’s largest LNG carriers.

Woodside Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer International 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."