LNG

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.

Elengy, the French LNG import terminal owner, and TotalEnergies said that France’s first LNG bunkering vessel, “Gas Vitality”, has loaded a cargo at the Fos Cavaou LNG terminal, located west of the Mediterranean port of Marseille.

Zvezda Shipbuilding in the Russian Far East has started steel-cutting for its latest Arc7 ice-class LNG carrier to serve the increasing Arctic LNG production plans being developed by natural gas company Novatek.

Elenger, the energy company in the Baltic state of Estonia, has taken delivery of the first of a Damen Shipyard-built liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel, the first LNG fuel supplier deployed in the Gulf of Finland to serve ships and shoreside small-scale customers.

The “Optimus” is 100-metres in length with 6,000 cubic metres of capacity in two type-C tanks.

The deployment of the ship involved multinational efforts from project participants in China, Estonia, Russia, the Netherlands and France.

“Its introduction is expected to accelerate the wider adoption of LNG as a cleaner alternative fuel in the Baltic Sea by providing a mobile and efficient ship-to-ship distribution service for the first time,” said Elenger.

The vessel loaded LNG in the port at Vysotsk island in Russia and headed to Tallinn in Estonia.

The bunkering vessel was built in China at the Damen Shipyard in Yichang City, located on the left bank of the Yangtze River.

The construction was overseen by French classification society Bureau Veritas.

Gas trials for the “Optimus” were completed in the Damen Verolme shipyard in the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

The owner of the “Optimus” is Estonian investment company Infortar and Elenger is the charterer.

“Optimus is designed to meet the requirements of ICE class 1A certification and to achieve green ship notation,” said Elenger.

“A dual-fuel propulsion system is used for the management of the boil-off gas in combination with a gas boiler system, and the interior of the vessel features high-quality accommodation for her crew,” added the company.

“With this first LNG bunkering vessel, Elenger has significantly expanded its LNG distribution business in the Baltic region,” said the company.

It has been supplying one of the leading regional ferry companies, Tallink Group, for the past five years, refuelling its LNG-fuelled RoPax ferry “Megastar” using multiple specialist trucks.

The “Megastar “will be one of the first beneficiaries of the arrival of “Optimus”, followed in spring 2022 by Tallink’s new LNG-fuelled RoPax ferry “MyStar”.

Ain Hanschmidt, Chief Executive of the Estonian-based owners, investment firm Infortar, said its strategy is to invest in safe and sustainable LNG supply for various maritime customers in the Gulf of Finland region.

The construction of the “Optimus” was supported by the European Union Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding programme and was co-financed by the leading financial services group in Finland, OP Financial Group.

Stena Power and LNG Solutions has completed successful model testing of the receiving terminal technology ordered for Delta Offshore Energy’s LNG-to-power project in Vietnam.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French liquefied natural gas technology company, received the final approval for its newest LNG storage tanks for carriers from Europe’s three leading maritime classification societies.

Sovcomflot said a keel-laying ceremony was held at the Zvezda Shipbuilding yard in Russia’s Far East for a new Arctic liquefied natural gas vessel ordered by the Russian tanker and LNG carrier fleet owner.

April 21 (LNGJ) - Seaspan Marine. the ferries-to-tugs shipping and ship services company based in Vancouver, said it secured an Approval in Principle from French classification society, Bureau Veritas, for the design of a liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel with 7.600 cubic metres capacity. The vessel has been designed for ship-to-ship LNG transfers as well as coastal-short sea shipping by Vard Marine Inc., a partner of Seaspan Ferries.

   “Seaspan is committed to bringing clean LNG bunkers to the West Coast of North America through our LNG bunkering business, in order to assist ship owners in meeting their IMO 2030 targets,” said Seaspan Marine Vice President Gord Miller, who oversees the Ferries unit. 

French LNG storage tank designer GTT has obtained approval from the France-based maritime classification society Bureau Veritas related to the use of a digital solution for sloshing activity assessments in the tanks of LNG carriers.

French classification society Bureau Veritas has granted operational mode for the Torman LNG floating regasification unit (FRU) at Tema port in Ghana, opening the way for the West African nation to become an LNG importer.

The unit is combined with a floating storage unit (FSU) for the delivery of gas to onshore consumers.

Jiangnan Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp., built the FRU and the vessel left the Chinese yard at the end of November 2020 for the voyage to African waters for deployment.

A venture called Access LNG comprising Helios Investment Partners, a leading Africa focused private investment firm, and Gasfin Development, an LNG infrastructure company, is developing the facility.

Gasfin has led the design of the project and the fabrication of the floating infrastructure with capacity to deliver 2 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

The Tema project is designed around the FRU working in conjunction with an upgraded 127,500 cubic metres capacity LNG carrier, which will act as floating storage, to deliver 250 million standard cubic feet per day of gas.

“This exciting development of Gasfin’s facility, involving the Torman LNG FRU and a Moss-type LNG floating storage unit (FSU), both classed by Bureau Veritas, paves the way for the first deliveries of LNG to a terminal in sub-Saharan Africa,” declared Bureau Veritas.

“The project will contribute to meeting Ghana’s growing cleaner energy demand,” said the French class society.

“The volume that Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC) will be taking is equivalent to circa 1,300 megawatts of combined cycle power plant capacity,” it added.

The 95-metre long, newly built FRU has been fitted with two IMO type-C tanks and has a storage capacity of 28,000 cubic metres.

The LNG FRU is designed for an operational life of approximately 20 years.

Helios established Tema LNG Terminal Co. (TLTC) to develop, construct and operate sub-Saharan Africa’s first LNG import terminal.

The companies involved now say that the Tema LNG terminal venture has achieved mechanical completion and the first LNG delivery should not be far off.

The classification and certification scope, successfully conducted by Bureau Veritas, included the design, review, approval, material certification, and construction surveys of the LNG FRU at the Jiangnan shipyard, as well as in Tema port.

During the unit’s service years, Bureau Veritas will be supporting Gasfin’s management, reassuring stakeholders of the structural soundness of the unit and its safety, through regular conformity checks under classification rules and international standards.

“This is a great achievement for all the teams involved,” said Kerem Kiper, Vice President for the Middle East, Africa, and India at Bureau Veritas.

“This project proves that alternative solutions to produce and store electricity are available,” he added.

“It opens up new opportunities in Africa for LNG floating units. I am proud of the BV team as we continue to demonstrate our expertise across the LNG value chain,” stated Kiper.