Methane Pioneer was the first oceangoing LNG tanker in the world. Built in 1945 as a cargo ship named Marline Hitch, the vessel was renamed Don Aurelio and Normarti before being rebuilt in 1958 for the purpose of transporting LNG and operated between 1959 and 1972. The ship was later renamed Aristotle.
Service history
Early history
Methane Pioneer was built as
yard number 344 by Walter Butler Shipbuilders in Duluth, Minnesota as a Type C1-M-AV1 cargo ship for the United States Maritime Commission. She was delivered as
Marline Hitch in July 1945.
As World War II came to an end shortly after it was delivered,
Marline Hitch was sold privately under the name
Don Aurelio in 1946. In 1951 the ship was renamed
Normarti.
As Methane Pioneer
In 1958
Normarti, then owned by the Norgulf Shipping Line, was converted into a tanker at the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company in Mobile, Alabama and was delivered in October 1958, renamed
Methane Pioneer.
The project was funded by the British
Gas Council and was operated by a joint venture company called Constock International Methane (CIM). CIM was formed as a partnership between
Conoco and Union Stock Yards, and renamed Conch International Methane when Shell joined in 1959.
She had a capacity of 32,000 barrels of LNG.
was allocated the Call sign GBHU.
Methane Pioneers maiden voyage was from Constock's LNG production facility on the Calcasieu River in Louisiana.
Methane Pioneer was later renamed Aristotle and operated by Stephenson Clarke Shipping, making 30 voyages between 1959 and 1972,
