The United States Maritime Administration has granted a deepwater port licence for the $8.2 billion ST LNG project, the MarineLink Maritime News reported on 28 October 2026. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the decision on Wednesday, and the report said the project could further expand US liquefied natural gas export capacity.
The announcement made clear that the Maritime Administration approved the application for a deepwater port licence for the ST LNG scheme. The MarineLink item, dated 28 October 2026, recorded Secretary Duffy as conveying the administration's decision without setting out additional project particulars.
Regulatory milestone
The licence approval is a formal step reported by MarineLink; the news item emphasised the Maritime Administration's role in assessing and approving the application. The report did not specify subsequent administrative or commercial steps that might follow the licence decision.
Capacity implications
MarineLink noted that, according to the US Transportation Secretary, the ST LNG project could further expand US liquefied natural gas export capacity. The report framed that potential as a key element of the announcement but did not quantify the scale of any additional capacity in the published item.
The available report confines itself to the licence approval, the project's headline cost and the Transportation Secretary's statement. It does not include details on the project's location, the expected production or export volumes, construction timetable, financing arrangements or the names of participating developers or contractors.
Readers should note that the MarineLink dispatch on 28 October 2026 is the source for the approval and the description of the project's potential to enlarge export capacity. The report relays the Maritime Administration's decision through the office of the Transportation Secretary and does not provide further technical or commercial data within the published text.
The announcement will be of interest to those tracking developments in liquefied natural gas infrastructure and export policy. The MarineLink item presents the approval as a significant administrative development while leaving many operational questions unanswered in its brief account.
In the absence of further detail in the published report, observers seeking more granular information about ST LNG should look to subsequent releases from the Maritime Administration, the Department of Transportation or the project proponents. For now, the verified facts are the licence approval, the project's reported cost of $8.2 billion and the Transportation Secretary's statement that the scheme could further expand US LNG export capacity.