The following is the text of a news release from Elliott Bay Design Group:
(SEATTLE) — Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) is pleased to announce that longtime partner Moran Towing Corp. has been granted U.S. Patent 8,967,174 for "Articulated conduit systems and uses thereof for fuel gas transfer between a tug and barge." The patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 2, 2014, and in general terms describes arrangements and methods for transferring boil-off gas between a liquefied natural gas (LNG) barge and its tug, while taking into account the relative motion between the two vessels.
"This design represents an advance in natural gas fuel transfer technology and demonstrates EBDG's and Moran's commitment to the emerging maritime LNG transport industry," stated Curt Leffers, EBDG project manager and one of the inventors listed on the patent. "It also brings to realization the concept of using natural gas as fuel between a tug and a barge.”
The development of the system was the result of a collaborative effort over an approximate one year period by teams from both EBDG and Moran. The individual inventors listed on the patent include Sean Perreault (Danbury, Conn.), Curtis Leffers (Seattle), Matthew Roddy (Edmonds, Wash.), Matthew Wichgers (Seattle) and Jeremy Rice (Seattle).
