LNG market · Operations·19 Aug 2026·Bahamas · Caribbean
Arawak Cay tanks go in. Mini-LNG for Nassau cruise power
The first of ten 1,500 m³ vacuum-insulated LNG tanks have been installed on Arawak Cay, Nassau. The tanks form the core of a mini-LNG receiving and regasification terminal being built by INOX India for Island Power Producers (IPP).
Total storage will be 15,000 m³. The terminal will feed a 60 MW combined-cycle plant intended to supply shore power to cruise ships at the Nassau Cruise Port. Confirmed by INOX (November 2024 contract) and by construction photographs published 19 August.
The facility is designed to receive LNG from smaller carriers and to reload into ISO containers for distribution to other Bahamian users. It is the third mini-LNG terminal built by INOX and the largest. An earlier unit was completed in Antigua. Nassau Container Port berths in the vicinity are listed at 27–28 ft draft.
Growing LNG demand in the Caribbean
Island power systems across the Caribbean are shifting toward LNG for generation and for shore power. Puerto Rico is the clearest working example. New Fortress Energy operates an LNG import facility at San Juan. Crowley now runs the U.S.-flagged LNG carrier American Energy (ex-Puteri Intan, reflagged under the 1996 Jones Act exception) on a regular Gulf Coast–Puerto Rico shuttle, delivering more than two million cubic metres of U.S.-sourced LNG in its first year of service. The vessel supplies EcoEléctrica at Peñuelas and supports the island’s broader shift away from oil-fired generation.
Similar small-scale and modular terminals are appearing or planned in other island jurisdictions. The Arawak Cay project follows the same logic: limited land, limited draft, need for reliable lower-carbon fuel for both grid and cruise-ship cold ironing. The Bahamas installation is intended as a template for further IPP sites in the country.
Established
- Ten × 1,500 m³ tanks (15,000 m³ total) under installation at Arawak Cay for IPP’s 60 MW shore-power plant (INOX / Nassau Guardian).
- Terminal designed for small-ship delivery and ISO-container reload.
- Puerto Rico already receives U.S.-sourced LNG on the U.S.-flagged American Energy (Crowley, operating since March 2025).
Not established
- Named delivery vessel or first cargo date for Arawak Cay.
- Commercial start date of the 60 MW plant.
- That the Nassau Container Port berths have been formally approved for LNG carriers of a specific size.
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