C&C Marine and Repair Celebrates Keel Laying for Hybrid Escort Tugs

[By: C&C Marine and Repair]

C&C Marine and Repair today held a keel laying ceremony at its Belle Chasse shipyard, marking a major milestone in a new series of four advanced hybrid escort tugs being built for Green Tug Towing (GTT). The vessels will support LNG carrier operations at Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG terminal in Calcasieu Parish.

The GTT series joins a separate series of four hybrid escort tugs already under construction at C&C, bringing the shipyard’s active tugboat program to a total of eight vessels. Together, the two programs contribute to Woodside and its contractors having committed more than $1 billion to Louisiana suppliers in support of the Louisiana LNG project.

A Landmark Ceremony for Louisiana Shipbuilding
The keel laying ceremony brought together key stakeholders and industry leaders, including Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry; Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois; Woodside Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer International Daniel Kalms; Green Tug Towing President Thomas Springer; and Tony Cibilich, President and Owner of C&C Marine and Repair.

To commemorate the occasion, Governor Landry welded four specially minted doubloons into the keel — one for each project partner: C&C Marine and Repair, the State of Louisiana, Woodside Energy, and Green Tug Towing. The centuries-old maritime tradition of welding coins into a vessel’s keel symbolizes good fortune for the ship and safety for its crew and marks the formal beginning of a vessel’s life.

“This ceremony is a proud moment for our shipyard and for everyone involved in this program,” said Tony Cibilich, President and Owner of C&C Marine and Repair. “This project is more than a contract — it’s a commitment to our workforce, our community, and our future. Building these vessels will keep more than 100 of our employees working steadily for nearly two years, and that kind of stability means everything to the families who depend on these jobs and to the strength of our local economy.”

Next-Generation Hybrid Vessels Built for LNG Operations
The four GTT vessels will be built to Robert Allan Ltd.’s RApport 2800H design — one of the most advanced escort tug platforms available — specifically engineered to meet the safety, maneuverability, and environmental requirements of modern LNG terminal operations. The tugs will feature advanced 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.

“These are among the most sophisticated vessels ever built at our shipyard, and our team is ready for it,” Cibilich added. “We’ve spent nearly three decades building the people, the facilities, and the engineering depth to take on programs of this scale. We’re proud to build these tugs in Louisiana and to be part of a project that will power America’s energy future for decades to come.”

Built for Programs of This Scale
C&C Marine and Repair is purpose-built for complex, multi-vessel programs. Founded in 1997 as a 5,000 square-foot repair shop on the Harvey Canal, the company has grown into one of the Gulf Coast’s premier shipbuilding facilities — now spanning more than 100 acres in Belle Chasse with 3,200 linear feet of continuous waterfront along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and more than 540,000 square feet of fully enclosed fabrication space.

The shipyard’s indoor construction model eliminates weather delays, while an onsite team of marine architects, engineers, and first-class welders allows C&C to optimize designs for both performance and construction efficiency without relying on outside engineering firms. A patented robotic blast facility operating 24/7 and an automated panel line round out the production infrastructure, supporting C&C’s track record of delivering vessels on time and on budget.

With design work for the GTT series now advancing toward full production, delivery of the vessels is scheduled for 2028 to support Woodside Louisiana LNG’s targeted first LNG production in 2029. The tugs will operate under a 20-year services contract to provide LNG carrier berthing, unberthing, escort, standby, and emergency response services.

The GTT contract adds to a growing pipeline of high-complexity vessel programs at C&C Marine and Repair, reinforcing the shipyard’s position as a leading builder of towboats, tugs, dredges, and offshore vessels along the U.S. Gulf Coast.