The American Bureau of Shipping, the US maritime classification society, has awarded approval for the design of a one-side spread mooring system for a floating liquefied natural gas facility to South Korean shipyard and offshore equipment-maker Samsung Heavy Industries.
The Approval in Principle (AIP) for SHI will see the FLNG system being safely spread-moored on one side, enabling LNG carriers to berth and load on the opposite side free from obstructions.
“With more than 150 floating oil and gas facilities in the ABS-classed fleet, ABS is the market leader in classification of offshore production units, which includes FLNG assets,” said the Houston, Texas-based company.
Matt Tremblay, ABS Vice President for Global Offshore, explained that the US class society was well placed to understand the unique requirements of these units, with a focus on safety.
“I’m proud to be able to support SHI with this innovation,” stated Tremblay.
Wang K. Lee, Vice President of SHI’s Offshore Business Division, said the one-side spread mooring system is a patented technology that can replace complex turrets in a mild offshore environment.
“It will be the optimized solution for shipping companies looking for economical FLNG models,” he added.
ABS has expertise on the whole of the LNG engineering, shipping and bunkering sector.
One of its 2021 approvals was for a new design by Finnish company Deltamarin and French LNG storage tank firm GTT for an LNG-powered Aframax oil tanker.
The vessel was developed by Deltamarin, a designer of ships and offshore platforms for the energy industry, to increase autonomy and carbon-emission reductions for the Aframax-type vessel, which is a crude oil tanker with a deadweight between 80,000 and 120,000 metric tonnes.
That design is intended to meet current and future environmental targets by introducing GTT membrane-type LNG tanks with LNG fuel stored at atmospheric pressure and designed to ABS Class.
The AiP from ABS certifies that the onboard integration of the membrane fuel tank solution is technically feasible for an LNG-fuelled tanker and that it complies with all safety regulations.
Compared with a conventional oil-fuelled tanker, the LNG-powered design reduces CO2 emissions by at least 20 percent.
