LNG

Bureau Veritas has classed CMA CGM Notre Dame, a 24,092 TEU LNG dual-fuel ultra-large container ship delivered by Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding, marking the first in a planned series of 24 vessels for CMA CGM.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French LNG storage technology company, has received design approval from two European classification societies for the latest containment system.

Ascenz Marorka, the smart-shipping arm of French LNG maritime storage technology company GTT, has been granted an approval for cybersecurity for its digital solutions by France’s classification society Bureau Veritas.

“The technological evolution in the maritime sector has brought to the forefront significant risks associated with cyber-attacks, affecting the safety of individuals, the marine environment or everyone’s personal data,” said Ascenz Marorka.

“Faced with this reality, maritime companies need to adopt proactive protection measures and robust defence strategies to ensure the continuity and the safety of their operations,” stated the firm.

Resilience

GTT group said that the approval for cyber-security granted by Bureau Veritas highlighted the ability of the Ascenz Marorka solutions to meet the cyber-security challenges of the maritime sector with “resilience and reliability” after testing.

GTT said the smart-shipping unit benefited from the robust protection for its computer systems, encrypting the data used and was able to isolate the networks for the approved functionalities.

The Paris-based firm said that the approval demonstrated Ascenz Marorka’s commitment to helping build a sustainable future, while ensuring maximum cyber protection for its customers.

“The safety of our customers’ data is at the heart of our strategy. We are very proud of this approval, which reflects our commitment to protecting our customers’ operations,” said Anouar Kiassi, Managing Director of Ascenz Marorka.

“Having a trusted third party like Bureau Veritas certify our solution is the best proof we can offer our customers to show them how seriously we monitor and mitigate evolving cyber-risks,” declared Kiassi.

Bureau Veritas

Paul Delouche, the Advanced Services Director of Bureau Veritas, said that as a class society, Bureau Veritas was very pleased to find that key players in the maritime industry, such as Ascenz Marorka, were seeking certification to demonstrate their level of cybersecurity maturity.

The certification covers the Ascenz Marorka applications’ related requirements included in “NR467 Bureau Veritas Rules for the Classification of Steel Ships”, “NR659 Bureau Veritas Rules on Cyber Security or the Classification of marine units” and “IACS UR E27 Rev.1 (Sep 2023) Cyber resilience of on-board systems and equipment”.

Ascenz Marorka noted that with IACS UR E27 entering into force on July 1, 2024, the smart-shipping unit has successfully anticipated what many vendors would need to accomplish in the coming months.

“This certification rewards the exemplary commitment of Ascenz Marorka teams in strengthening their digital solutions and demonstrates Bureau Veritas’ readiness to promote cybersecurity as a catalyst for digitalization,” the company concluded.

Sept 18 (LNGJ) - Hanwha Ocean of South Korea, formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and French classification society Bureau Veritas have started a joint development project (JDP) on the structural assessment of independent LNG fuel tanks for ultra-large ships.

   “The particularity of these independent tanks is that they are not rigidly connected to the hull structure but are instead held by an important number of dedicated supports, which must be designed with consideration of non-linear structural response during operations, including loss of contact and sliding,” said a statement.

French classification society Bureau Veritas has approved a joint development project involving several companies from Japan, South Korea and France for wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) for an LNG carrier and a Very Large Crude Carrier.

Seatrium Limited of Singapore, formerly Sembcorp Marine Ltd and the Dutch family-owned dredging and shipping company Van Oord, marked the successful completion and delivery of the “Vox Alexia”, Van Oord's third dual-fuel LNG-powered Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD), during a sailaway event in the Asian city state.

The delivery of the “Vox Alexia”, the final unit of a series of three dual-fuel LNG-powered dredgers, adds to the earlier completions of the first and second newbuilds “Vox Ariane” and “Vox Apolonia” delivered in April and December 2022 respectively.

Both sister vessels are currently in service and contributing to Van Oord’s cleaner fleet operations.

Seatrium said that following delivery, the “Vox Alexia’ would set off from Singapore for further preparatory trials by the customer prior to being put into service later in 2023.

“Leveraging the experience of constructing two earlier units, and an integrated Seatrium-Van Oord team approach, the project was completed with good safety performance as well as stringent quality and performance standards,” said a statement from Seatrium and Van Oord.

Merger

Seatrium underwent a corporate transformation to a new brand and with its name changed from Sembcorp Marine Ltd following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine.

Seatrium and Van Oord added that the “Vox Alexia” was built to the requirements of the International Maritime Organization's Tier III regulations and construction was overseen by French maritime classification society Bureau Veritas.

The vessel has a hopper capacity of 10,500 cubic metres and incorporates highly automated marine and dredging systems.

The TSHD is equipped with a suction pipe with submerged e-driven dredge pump, two shore discharge dredge pumps, five bottom doors, a total installed power of 14,500 kW and is able to accommodate 22 persons.

“We are very pleased to now add ‘Vox Alexia’ to our fleet in addition to her sister vessels ‘Vox Ariane’ and ‘Vox Apolonia’, and as such contribute even more to the energy transition and decarbonisation of our fleet,” said Harold WM Linssen, Director of the Ship Management Department at Van Oord.

More projects

“We also look forward to utilising and further developing the established synergy with Seatrium in upcoming projects,” added Linssen.

Tan Leong Peng, Managing Director of the Seatrium subsidiary, Seatrium New Energy Limited, said that the successful delivery of the latest dual-fuelled vessel with LNG capability would contribute to Van Oord’s greener shipping operations.

“We are pleased to deliver ‘Vox Alexia’, the final unit in the series of three highly automated dual-fuel newbuild dredgers,” said Tan.

“All three TSHDs run on cleaner LNG fuel and integrate greener features for enhanced efficiency, improved performance and environmentally sustainable operations,” he stated.

May 9 (LNGJ) - French LNG storage technology firm GTT has obtained approval from French classification society Bureau Veritas for the design of an LNG-powered, dual-fuel Very Large Crude Carrier in China.

   The Bureau Veritas approval in principle is part of a joint development project with Shanghai Waigaiqiao Shipyard, a builder of oil tankers. “The operational flexibility offered by this new (Mark III) 10,000 cubic metres capacity fuel tanks allows ship-owners and charterers to make round trip voyages between the Middle East, Asia, and Europe with a single LNG bunkering operation,” added GTT.

Silverstream Technologies, the London-based leader in air lubrication technology, has signed a deal with China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) to install its system on four Chinese LNG newbuilds being constructed at the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC) yard in northeast China.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French LNG storage technology company for ships and onshore, said it received two approvals from maritime classification societies for its new three-tank LNG tanker design.

The Approvals in Principle (AiP) came from Norwegian class society DNV and France’s Bureau Veritas.

DNV and BV have issued approvals in principle for the three-tank LNG carrier design for the Mark III and No. 96 technologies developed by GTT.

“This technological solution is aimed at increasing the profitability and overall performance of the vessel,” stated GTT.

GTT explained that the three-tank LNG carrier concept allowed a reduction in construction costs through the suppression of one cofferdam, one pump tower and all associated cryogenic equipment such as liquid and gas domes, valves and piping.

Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT, said that for almost 60 years, the GTT Group has been constantly improving its technologies to meet customer  requirements as well as those of the regulatory authorities.

Fewer tanks

“Thirty years ago, we upgraded LNG carriers from five to four tanks and we now hope to bring the market forward with a three-tank LNG carrier. We hope to see this concept become standard in future years,” declared Berterottière.

The Paris-based company said that the overall surface area of the containment system will also be reduced by about 2,000 cubic metres, generating lower costs for the materials and vessel construction.

GTT added that improved ratio between the volume of LNG transported and the surface area of the cryogenic liner would make it possible to reduce the daily boil-off rate.

As an example, GTT estimated that it would achieve a boil-off rate as low as 0.080 percent of tank volume per day with the Mark III Flex technology compared to 0.085 percent of the volume per day with the LNG carriers currently in operation.

The company said that this new design could also offer time-savings for shipyards and could help optimise their construction schedules.

Jean-Baptiste Boutillier, Vice President of Development, Innovation and Technical Strategy at GTT, said the company was honoured by the granting of these two approvals in principle for the three-tank LNG carrier.

“We are convinced that this evolution will benefit all stakeholders by improving the performance of the LNG carrier while reducing its carbon footprint,” added Boutillier.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of maritime liquefied natural gas storage and fuel tanks, has won approval from France’s classification society Bureau Veritas for a new ballast-free LNG bunker and feeder vessel.

GTT said it gained approval in principle from Bureau Veritas for the “Shear-Water” ballast-free concept.

“The majority of merchant vessels worldwide use ballast water when they are empty or partially loaded to maintain seaworthy conditions,” explained GTT.

“Therefore, a considerable quantity of ballast water is carried by ships every day. Even when ballast water is treated, there is a risk of transferring harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens from one area to another,” it noted.

“The solution developed by GTT eliminates this risk completely. In addition, removing the ballast water treatment system also reduces the energy consumption and CO2 footprint of the vessels,” added GTT.

GTT said that its “Shear-Water” concept was based on the currently proven vessel of 18,700 cubic metres capacity with two membrane tanks.

“The design also features a new hull shape, in a ‘V’, which differs from the standard square shaped mid-ship sections traditionally used for LNG carriers,” said GTT.

Hamburg testing

The Paris-based company explained that “an exhaustive testing campaign” has been carried out at the HSVA Hamburg (Germany) tank test facility in connection with power-speed, manoeuvrability and general seaworthiness.

“A sloshing test campaign has also been carried out by GTT to ensure the technical feasibility of the project and the excellent results obtained helped approve the concept,” added GTT.

Previous Approvals in Principle for the “Shear-Water” concept have been received from the China Classification Society and the European class society DNV.

“We are proud to have developed ‘Shear-Water’, an innovative ballast-free design for LNG bunker and feeder vessels,” said GTT Chairman and Chief Executive Philippe Berterottière.

“This new technological solution allows a reduction in investment and operating costs, simpler operations as well as a reduction in corrosion supporting a longer service life,” he added.

Mathieu De Tugny, Vice-President of Bureau Veritas, said the GTT design had clear performance and environmental benefits.

“These include less onboard equipment, easier maintenance of the void spaces surrounding the cargo and reduced propulsion power requirements,” added De Tugny.

“Bureau Veritas has monitored and reviewed all the test results performed to support its approval in principle,” he stated.