LNG

French liquefied natural gas storage technology firm Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT) reported a more than 17 percent increase in first-quarter revenues as the order book continued to build after a record year in 2022 and orders in the first three months for 25 LNG carriers.

March 29 (LNGJ) - French maritime and onshore LNG storage technology firm GTT has received an order from the South Korean shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries for the tank design of a new floating LNG production vessel.

   With a total storage capacity of 200,000 cubic metres the Paris-based company said this vessel would be the first fitted with GTT’s membrane Mark III Flex containment system. It is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027. GTT said that with this new order there will be five FLNG hulls fitted with GTT tanks.

March 20 (LNGJ) - Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French LNG storage technology company, has taken first place for a fourth consecutive year in list of patent applications from medium-sized companies made to the French Patent and Trademark Office, l’Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle.

   GTT said it had 57 patents published in 2022. “In the ranking of the Top 50 patent applicants in all categories, GTT is in 23rd place and has moved up seven places compared to the 2021 list,” said the Paris-based company. GTT said the ranking highlighted its “strong dynamic for innovation” and with a high research and development budget representing an average of 10 percent of the group’s turnover.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of LNG storage tanks for ships and for onshore including record licensing orders for LNG carrier membrane tanks, has decided on a full withdrawal from contracts for Russian ships and projects.

GTT has been involved in tank design for 15 ice-breaker LNG carriers currently being built at the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex (Zvezda) in the Russian Far East and for the design of three gravity-based storage tanks for other projects.

The Paris-based company said that as of October 1, 2022, revenues of €74 million ($80M) remained to be recognised for the ice-breaking LNG carriers by 2025 and €12M for the GBSs by 2027, which was a total exposure representing less than 6 percent of the order book.

“Following an in-depth analysis of European sanction packages No. 8 and No. 9 notably prohibiting engineering services with Russian companies, the group announces that it is ceasing its activities in Russia,” stated GTT.

The company explained that as of January 8, 2023, the contract with Russia’s Zvezda would be suspended and GTT's interventions would be limited, on the two most advanced LNG carriers, to ensuring the “safety of the projects” and the “integrity of the technology” in compliance with the international sanctions in force.

GBS projects

With regards to the GBS projects, the terms of GTT's departure are currently being finalised.

GTT added that these elements would have a financial impact mainly from 2023.

“GTT's order book will no longer include projects in Russia in the future. In addition, from 2023 onwards, the group's annual targets will exclude the revenues and EBITDA that would be generated by the last services in progress in Russia,” it added.

The company added that other shipping orders under construction in Asian shipyards, relating to six ice-breaking LNG carriers and two Floating storage units (FSUs), are intended specifically for Russian Arctic LNG projects.

“To date, these projects are proceeding normally. As of October 1, 2022, these orders represented a total revenue of €31M for GTT, to be recognised by 2024,” it said.

“Finally, eight conventional LNG carriers ordered by international shipowners, under construction in Asian shipyards, are also intended for Russian Arctic projects, but can operate in all types of conditions,” explained GTT.

“The group remains sensitive to the evolution of the situation and is taking all necessary measures to protect its employees and stakeholders, in compliance with international sanctions,” it concluded.

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.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of maritime liquefied natural gas storage and fuel tanks, has received another order from the Chinese Jiangnan shipyard as its busines in China gathers pace.

GTT said the latest order was for the cargo containment and cargo handling systems design fortwo large capacity LNG carriers.

As part of this order, GTT said it would provide the design and associated engineering services for the vessel’s tanks, which will each offer a capacity of 175,000 cubic metres.

The tanks will be fitted with the GTT Mark III Flex membrane containment system, a technology developed by GTT.

GTT added that the two vessels were scheduled for delivery in the first and second quarters of 2025.

“We are very pleased to accompany Jiangnan in a new phase of our collaboration, as these vessels are the first large LNG carriers to be built by Jiangnan shipyard,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“We will do whatever it takes to make this cooperation a great success,” added the CEO.

LNG growth

The Jiangnan shipbuilding business is one of China's larger shipyard facilities and is located northeast of Shanghai on Changxing Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

In mid-March 2022, GTT received an order from the Jiangnan shipyard for tank designs for four very large LNG-powered containerships on order for the leading Asian shipping company, Pacific International Lines.

Each vessel will be able to carry 14,000 20-feet equivalent units (TUE) containers and are scheduled to be delivered from the Chinese yard progressively from the second-half of 2024 through to the first half of 2025.

The LNG fuel tank of each vessel will offer a capacity of 13,800 cubic metres and will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system.

The tanks will also include unique features to facilitate a potential conversion of these vessels to ammonia fuel in the future.

In addition to the engineering services and on-site technical assistance, GTT explained that t would assist PIL through every step of their first LNG-fuelled project.

GTT said this would include commissioning of the LNG tanks, first LNG bunkering operations, as well as further specific LNG operations and maintenance of the vessels.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of maritime liquefied natural gas storage tanks, has signed a global Technical Services Agreement with  Qatar Gas Transport Co., also known as Nakilat.

GTT said the agreement would provide GTT’s technical support for Nakilat for maintenance and operational support for 26 of its vessels.

The 26 Nakilat ships are equipped with GTT storage tanks, either the Mark III technology or the No. 96  tanks.

This agreement includes GTT on-site technical assistance for inspection, maintenance, repairs, operations and engineering services.

Nakilat will also benefit from access to the HEARS emergency hotline, which enables ship-owners and their crews to contact GTT’s experts 24/7 to respond to operational issues.

“We welcome the signature of this agreement with our partner Nakilat, which owns and operates a large fleet of vessels equipped with our membrane technology,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“Our tailor-made support services, adapted to our customers’ requirements, allow us to guarantee maximum efficiency and safety for vessels in operation,” stated Berterottière.

In its full-year earnings Nakilat recently posted consolidated net profits of 1.35 billion Qatari rials ($372 million), an increase of 16.7 percent compared with 1.16Bln rials earned in 2020.

During 2021, the Covid-19 global pandemic continued to create very challenging and volatile conditions across the global shipping industry.

However, with long-term strategies in place, Nakilat managed to post annual revenues of 4.14Bln rials ($1.14Bln), a rise of 3.1 percent.

Nakilat at the start of 2022 also teamed up with the American Bureau of Shipping, the US classification society, to develop a decarbonization strategy.

Nakilat’s project team worked closely with ABS sustainability specialists to map out decarbonization pathways for the company’s overall fleet of 69 LNG carriers and four Very Large Gas Carriers.

In addition to this partnership with ABS, Nakilat was also leading a working group with its joint venture partners to ensure global fleet operations meet with emissions targets under regulations passed by the International Maritime Organization.

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.

French LNG storage tank technology company GTT has received two approvals from classification society Bureau Veritas, one relating to ammonia in LNG as a fuel application and a second for higher design pressure in LNG fuel tanks.