On 1st March,
General Dynamics NASSCO delivered the
Liberty - the third and final ship to be constructed for
SEA-Vista LLC as part of a larger eight-ship 'ECO'-class tanker program.
In 2013, NASSCO entered into an agreement with SEA-Vista to design and build three 50,000-deadweight-tonne, LNG-conversion-ready product carriers, each with a 330,000-barrel cargo capacity.
The 610-foot-long tankers are a new ECO design, said to offer improved fuel efficiency.
Construction of the first of the three ships for SEA-Vista LLC began in November 2014. The first two ships - the
Independence and the
Constitution - have been delivered.
"We are grateful for our partnership with SEA-Vista and the opportunity to design and construct three vessels equipped with world-leading technology and capability that will service their customers for decades to come," said
Steve Davison, vice president of pre-production operations for General Dynamics NASSCO.
The Liberty is the seventh vessel in an eight-ship ECO-class tanker program for two separate customers, SEA-Vista LLC and
American Petroleum Tankers. The eighth ship of the program, the
Palmetto State, is scheduled to be christened and launched on 25th March at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego.
In the past decade, NASSCO has delivered 29 ocean-going ships to government and commercial customers - including the world's first LNG-powered containership, the Isla Bella, which was delivered to TOTE Maritime in October 2015.
For its commercial work, NASSCO partners with South Korean ship designer Daewoo Ship Engineering Company (DSEC) - a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
