LNG

US shipping logistics and bunkering companies Seaside LNG and Polaris New Energy gathered with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding executives to christen the recently constructed LNG bunkering barge “Clean Everglades” to be deployed along the US Gulf Coast.

Sept 5 (LNG) - The American Bureau of Shipping has issued China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding with an approval in principle for its new liquefied natural gas carrier design with 271,000 cubic metres of cargo tank capacity. The design approval was awarded at the Gastech energy event in Singapore and the Chinese design is seen as suitable for the next generation of vessels being ordered by LNG producer QatarEnergy for expansion projects.

   The design features flexible dual-fuel propulsion and an air lubrication system as well as an enhanced cargo containment system together with a real-time sloshing monitoring system. “As the world’s premier classification society for gas carriers, with more than 50 years of experience, we are proud to support this advanced new design from Hudong-Zhonghua,” said John McDonald, ABS President and Chief Operating Officer.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US maritime classification society, as issued its 2023 strategy message at the annual ABS Advisory Council Meeting which also included presentations from the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the US Coast Guard.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US maritime classification society, has granted approval for an innovative concept for floating liquefied natural gas projects to use storage tanks from older LNG carriers.

The FLNG design was jointly developed by two Japanese companies, the shipping line Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-LINE) and LNG and energy engineer JGC Corp.

ABS awarded an approval in principle (AIP) for the joint project which was also supported by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

The design essentially involves transferring and reusing LNG storage tanks from spherical Moss-type LNG carriers into the hulls of new FLNG facilities.

By re-using existing LNG vessels and their Type B storage tanks, the potential number of shipyards globally able to build FLNG units is increased.

The new Japanese design if it moves to production would support the forecast increase in demand for fast-track FLNG solutions.

“In many areas of the world, FLNG represents a potential solution to the challenge of meeting increasing demand for natural gas without the need for an export pipeline to shore and the associated infrastructure,” explained Tor Ivar Guttulsrod, the ABS Director for FLNG and FSRU vessels.

“ABS is committed to supporting development of FLNG globally while retaining a laser focus on safety,” stated Guttulsrod.

Expertise

Satoshi Kanamori, an Executive Officer at K-Line, said the design had potential to leverage shipping expertise and existing LNG assets.

“K-LINE will continue to make relentless efforts and generate new values to meet the diversifying needs of our customers,” added Kanamori.

JGC executive Hiroyuki Ishizaki agreed with the K-Line assessment as it was based on technical capabilities accumulated in FLNG and engineering, procurement and construction projects.

“This results in the enhancement of the customer's FLNG business since it is potentially an optimized CAPEX solution. JGC will continue to develop FLNG technologies for open seas and nearshore,” added Ishizaki. 

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.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US classification society, said the first of an order of 12 very large ethane carriers (VLECs) with LNG notation and built to ABS Class has been delivered from the Goeje shipyard in South Korea of Samsung Heavy Industries.

The “Seri Everest” was handed over to Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical (STL) and is the first of a phase-one order by STL which was subsequently sold to the Malaysian shipping line, MISC Group.

The vessel with more than 98,000 cubic metres capacity is the largest VLEC ever built.

A second phase of the order also includes six vessels, bringing the total to 12, scheduled for trade from the US to China to support STL’s ethane cracker facility in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.

“This is the first VLEC to be delivered with the LNG Cargo-Ready notation that was released by ABS in 2019,” said the US class society.

“The notation provides assurance to owners and charterers that the VLEC can be upgraded to trade LNG cargoes in the future,” ABS explained.

Christopher J. Wiernicki, Chairman, President and Chief Executive of Houston, Texas-based ABS said that as part of the shale-gas revolution, shipping of liquefied ethane was developing into a significant new market.

“At ABS we have supported this development from the early stages and are happy to see that this leadership role is being recognized in the current VLEC market,” added Wiernicki.

Yee Yang Chien, President and Group Chief Executive of MISC, said he was proud to welcome “Seri Everest” as the first VLEC in MISC’s existing fleet.

“With this first delivery, our VLEC has set a new benchmark in the ethane market,” added Yee.

“The ‘Seri Everest’ has the capacity of transporting large-scale ethane over long distances while ensuring the highest level of safety and reliability,” stated the MISC CEO.

“We hope to continue to capitalize on this opportunity as we are confident that we will gain a strong foothold to cater to the increasing demand in this niche segment,” said Yee.

The MISC CEO noted that he was pleased that the “Seri Everest” was delivered according to schedule amidst the disruption caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Hohyun Jeong, SHI Executive Vice President for Engineering Operations, said that it was great to have the VLEC delivered on time during the pandemic as well as with the addition of the newly introduced ABS LNG Cargo Ready notation.

“The VLEC has been built with a cargo containment system for dual cargo loading and the cargo-handling system can be converted for LNG at any time, as needed,” Jeong explained.

“It has been all thanks to the close cooperation with ABS, STL and MISC working from anywhere, regardless of location,” he added.

ABS is the leader in provision of classification services to VLEC owners.

The US class society was chosen to oversee the very first order for six dedicated VLECs in 2014 by the Indian company, Reliance Industries.

ABS said the 87,000 cubic metres capacity VLECs have been successfully trading for Reliance and laid the foundation for the next generation of larger VLECs.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US maritime classification society, has approved a specialized near-shore LNG Floating Production Storage Offloading Vessel (FPSO) hull developed by the South Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

The ABS said it issued and Approval in Principle for the wide-breadth, single row near-shore LNG FPSO with a jetty-moored system.

The approval is the completion of a joint development project between DSME and ABS, combining the latest industry trends of shipbuilding practices and ABS rules to advance LNG safety standards.
 
The 64-metres wide, barge-shaped hull features a No. 96 single row containment system from French technology firm Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT) with storage capacity of 209,000 cubic metres.

It accommodates a jetty-moored system and approximately 40,000-metric tonnes of topside modules, which may produce between 3.0 million tonnes per annum and 3.5 MTPA of LNG.
 
“Due to wider breadth and different hull configuration compared to existing standard LNG carriers, various sloshing model tests have been carried out with the 6-DOF sloshing rig, driven by electric servomotors, at DSME’s sloshing research center in Korea,” explained ABS.

“Through these extensive tests, DSME have verified that the new hull design and the membrane cargo containment system (CCS) can withstand the sloshing impact loads under actual operating conditions,” added the US class society.
 
Matt Tremblay, ABS Senior Vice President for Global Offshore, noted that the US firm has been a part of the FPSO industry since its earliest days and has played a key role in the development of the sector.

“The benefit from that involvement is that we’ve been able to both witness and participate in the evolution of FPSOs in size, complexity and technology,” added Tremblay.

“This project is the next step in that evolution, and we are proud to be able to support it,” he stated.
 
Odin Kwon, an Executive Vice President of DSME and Chief Technology Officer, was delighted with the approval.

“As today’s offshore oil and gas market demands more cost efficient and fast-track projects, this single row CCS tank configuration will become a desirable model for our clients and this new line-up together with the two-row CCS configuration will provide greater flexibility to fulfil various needs,” he said.

ABS noted that it has been working with floating gas concepts for many years, including the first purpose-built liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) floating storage and offloading unit, delivered in 1997, and the first LPG FPSO in 2005.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US classification society, said a small-scale LNG carrier, the world’s first such vessel to be fitted with an innovative cargo containment system based on IMO requirements for independent type A tanks, has been delivered to the shipping line from the Chinese shipbuilders.

Dec 9 (LNGJ) - The American Bureau of Shipping has granted approval in principle to Finnish company Deltamarin and French LNG storage tank firm GTT for a dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carrier design with LNG capability. Deltamarin, GTT and ABS have been cooperating on the development of this LNG-fueled bulk carrier. It 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.

   ABS said that the approval addressed the design’s introduction of a membrane fuel tank sited in the aft of the vessel. The tank design is intended to maximize cargo capacity, with the additional tank having zero impact on available cargo space or the vessel’s hull dimensions. “A design such as this would allow owners and operators to capitalize on the potential of LNG as marine fuel to help meet emissions reduction objectives without having to compromise on cargo load,” said Patrick Janssens, ABS Vice President for Global Gas Solutions.

Sea-LNG, a global coalition of energy and shipping companies backing the increased use of liquefied natural gas as a maritime fuel, has signed up its first US port as a member and its second in North America after Vancouver in Canada.