LNG

March 7 (LNGJ) - Orders for alternative fuel vessels such as those powered by LNG picked up in February after a slump from the end of 2022. European classification society DNV said that there were 10 orders placed for LNG-fuelled vessels last month and all of them were containerships.

   However, there were also 22 orders for ships to be powered by methanol. DNV said that so far in 2023 the total order figure for alternative fuel vessels stands at 34. “LNG offers immediate an reduction of greenhouse-gas even when fossil LNG is used,” said Martin Wold, Principal Consultant in DNV’s Maritime Advisory business. “Building a methanol-fuelled vessel is less expensive, but green methanol will be needed sooner than green LNG and there is currently high uncertainty on future availability and prices,” Wold added.

European classification society DNV has granted an initial approval to Norwegian company Passer Marine for the development of a new LNG fuel tank insulation system suitable for Type-B fuel tanks.

The new Passer Marine concept is designed for prismatic Type-B LNG tanks, which according to International Maritime Organisation rules require a partial secondary barrier.

The Passer Marine equipment includes a leakage detection system capable of safely managing and containing fuel leaks.

“The system we have developed is cost-effective and production-friendly,” said Svein Konradsen, Chief Operating officer of Passer Marine.

“The pandemic has been challenging for many companies and for the development of this particular design,” explained Konradsen.

“The required testing has been difficult to finalize due to interruptions and limited possibilities to travel, but finally we have been able to submit the necessary documentation which I am very pleased to say was accepted by DNV,” he stated.

Konradsen said the Approval In Principle (AiP) from DNV was a boost for the company in the storage tanks equipment market. 

As LNG-fueled vessels are increasingly being deployed for deep-sea shipping, fuel tank sizes need to increase from 300-1,000 cubic metres of fuel capacity to up to 10,000-20,000 cubic metre, which leaves less room for cargo.

“As such, there is increased industry interest in alternative fuel tanks, known as Type-B, which are prismatic in shape and more volume efficient than traditional cylindrical Type-C tanks,” explained Passer Marine, which has offices in Norway, Lithuania and China.

“Between 95 and 99 percent of LNG-fueled ships contain Type-C fuel tanks, but many newbuilds on order contain Type-B specifications,” the company added.

Monika Johannessen, a Head of Department at Hamburg, Germany-based DNV Maritime, explained the thinking behind the initial approval of the Passer Marine tanks insulation.

“There are several insulation concepts under development that provide an integrated secondary barrier and leakage detection system, but there are few proven systems available on the market,” said Johannessen.

“We are pleased that Passer Marine has chosen DNV to pursue verification for this innovative concept and look forward to receiving the documentation for full approval,” she stated.

An AiP is widely recognized in the industry as an early phase verification level for new design concepts or for existing designs in new applications.

The approval issued by DNV is an independent assessment of a concept according to an agreed requirement framework within DNV rules, notations and regulations.