LNG

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French LNG storage technology company, and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries have received an approval from UK maritime classification society Lloyd’s Register for a new design of GTT’s three-tank concept.

The new design is for a new LNG carrier featuring GTT’s three-tank Mark III Flex membrane containment system, which will also allow for the reduction in the length of vessels.

This approval in principle is the result of a Joint Development Project initiated in 2022 and aimed at designing a new generation of LNG vessels.

Analysts note that about 30 years ago, GTT upgraded LNG carriers from five storage tanks to four tanks and the company now hopes to bring the market forward with a three-tank LNG carrier.

GTT explained that the three-tank LNG carrier concept permits an increase in LNG cargo capacity and improves maintenance efficiencies through the suppression of one cofferdam, one pump tower and all associated cryogenic equipment.

The Paris-based company added that the design also improved the ratio between the volume of LNG transported and the surface area of the cryogenic liner.

GTT explained that this would make it possible to achieve a boil-off rate as low as 0.080 percent of tank volume per day with the Mark III Flex technology compared with 0.085 percent of the volume per day with the LNG ships currently in operation (of 174,000 cubic metres capacity).

Loading

“In addition, this three-tank LNGC design provides an almost equivalent loading time as a standard four-tank LNGC configuration, thanks to an adapted pump tower,” said the company.

“In addition to these benefits, the removal of a cofferdam, pump tower and its associated equipment reduces the weight of the ship,” it added.

Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT, said he was proud to be granted this approval from Lloyd’s Register alongside its long-standing ship-building partner SHI.

“We are convinced that this development will benefit all players in the maritime sector by improving the performance of LNG carriers,” stated Berterottière.

Youngkyu Ahn, Vice President of the Shipbuilding Engineering Division of SHI, said the design was expected to increase cargo capacity, minimize operating costs, optimize maintenance efficiency and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

“This achievement is a remarkable step in the pursuit of even more innovative vessel designs, and it is with conviction that we pledge to continue to explore and develop innovative designs in the future,” he stated.

Lloyd’s Register said it was focused on innovating to improve efficiency and safety and had reached “another important stage” in its collaboration with SHI and GTT.

“We are pleased to award this AiP, which marks an important step forward for LNG owners, who will now have the opportunity to reduce the length of their vessels and maximise cargo-carrying potential with this optimised design,” declared Young-Doo Kim, a senior executive of Lloyd’s Register in North-East Asia.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French LNG storage technology company for shipping and onshore, said it was chosen by two major European LNG ship-owners to equip a total of three vessels with its predictive maintenance solution, the Sloshing Virtual Sensor.

This unique digital technology is dedicated to the assessment of sloshing activity to extend the cargo tank entry period.

GTT explained that the system uses the tank digital twin, designed by GTT, and the vessel’s real-time operational data to monitor the evolution of critical tank integrity parameters.

“Combined with an appropriate risk analysis, ship-owners and charterers are able to optimise the tank maintenance while complying with strict safety standards, improving operational flexibility and making significant cost savings,” said the Paris-based company.

STASCO validation

Earlier this year, GTT received an Approval in Principle (AiP) for this technology from UK classification society Lloyd’s Register following the extensive validation work carried out in close collaboration with Shell International Trading and Shipping Company (STASCO).

“Following the technical approval by the AiP, these contracts represent the commercial validation of the value that our customers see in the Sloshing Virtual Sensor,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“We are convinced that this technology will become an industry standard,” stated the CEO.

GTT also recently announced the creation a new brand from smart-shipping subsidiaries based in Singapore and Iceland.

The brand merger of the units is under the name Ascenz Marorka, taking the name of the Singaporean company Ascenz and the Europe-based Marorka.

GTT acquired Marorka, a smart-shipping company based in Iceland with services much sought by the LNG industry, in February 2020.

Marorka was bought from its owners and management team for an undisclosed sum.

The company designs maritime energy monitoring and optimization systems for vessels allowing them to reduce their environmental footprint and also provides other benefits.

The Icelandic company’s systems were at the time of its acquisition by GTT installed on more than 600 vessels.

Marorka was purchased as a good technical, commercial and geographical complement to the Far East smart-shipping unit Ascenz .

Nov 9 (LNGJ) - French LNG storage tanks designer GTT received an order from the South Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard for the design of tanks for a new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) ordered by the US floating LNG terminals provider Excelerate Energy.

   “GTT will design the tanks of this FSRU, with a capacity of 170,000 cubic metres. The tanks will be fitted with the Mark III Flex membrane containment system developed by GTT,” said GTT. The delivery of the ship is scheduled for the second quarter of 2026.

French maritime storage technology firm GTT has received an order from its partner, the South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), for the fuel tank designs for five LNG-fuelled container vessels.

Owners of large and small LNG carrier fleets are maintaining robust order books with the latest ship to be delivered being for shipowner Minerva Gas along with four other vessels for various owners that emerged from the shipyards in June.

Greek shipping line Minerva has just taken delivery of the 173,400 cubic metres capacity carrier, the “Minerva Limnos”, from South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

The vessel left DSME's Geoje shipyard on June 30. The “Minerva Limnos” features M-type electronically controlled, Gas injection (ME-GI) propulsion, a No. 96 GW LNG containment system from GTT and a PRS-FRS re-liquefaction system.

The vessel is flying the Malta flag and is classed by European classification society DNV.

“We wish to convey to the Master, Chief Engineer and all Officers and ratings of ‘Minerva Limnos’ our warmest congratulations and wholehearted wishes for safe, smooth and prosperous voyages and calm seas,” said a statement from Athens-based Minerva.

Off Japan

The new Minerva carrier was shown in latest shipping data as being just off the coast of Japan and was expected to head for the Panama Canal before lifting its maiden cargo in the Atlantic Basin.

The vessel delivery brings Minerva's LNG fleet numbers to three carriers, following deliveries of two vessels in January and February 2021.

The shipowner has ordered two further carriers, both of 174,000 cubic metres capacity, the “Minerva Chios” to be delivered in the weeks ahead and its sister ship, the “Minerva Amorgos” to be handed over by August 2022.

The four other LNG carriers delivered from shipyards in June were for Danish owner Celsius Shipping and Greek owners Alpha Gas, Gaslog and Capital Gas.

The expectations of growing shipping demand in the LNG market is supported by the lengthening of shipping routes on the
ramp-up of export capacity from the United States and Russia.

The bulk of additional sanctioned liquefaction capacity entering the market will be in the 2021-2024 period.

At the end of 2020 as many as 150 LNG vessels were on order, which represents a quarter of the active carrier fleet, excluding floating storage and regasification units.

Of these, nearly 60 ships are scheduled for delivery in 2021, adding close to 10 million cubic metres of capacity, an 11 percent year-on-year increase.

The market entry of the remaining 15 million cubic metres of capacity on order is spread across the period between 2022 and 2025.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of liquefied natural gas maritime and onshore storage systems, has been fined by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, the country’s anti-trust regulator, for unfair tie-in sales to South Korean shipbuilders.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French technology firm for designs of systems for the maritime transportation and storage of liquefied natural gas, has renewed and expanded a global Technical Services Agreement (TSA) with the Norwegian shipowner Knutsen OAS Shipping and its growing LNG fleet.

The cooperation of French energy major Total with China in large-scale liquefied natural gas investments in Russia's Arctic region projects has extended to small-scale LNG with the completion of its first bunkering vessel at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding yard near Shanghai.

Japanese shipowner NYK Line said it signed a new long-term charter contract to supply a liquefied natural gas carrier to French energy major Total.