LNG

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French liquefied natural gas storage technology company, said it received an order for tanks designs for 17 vessels from the South Korea shipyard HD Hyundai Heavy Industries on behalf of a leading LNG player, revealed earlier as QatarEnergy.

July 12 (LNGJ) - GTT, the French designer of membrane storage tanks, said it would provide maritime storage for two LNG carriers ordered from the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company  (DISC) yard in Liaoning province of northeast China.

   GTT said the DSIC yard had ordered the tanks for two vessels ordered by China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES). The ships will each have capacity of 175,000 cubic metres. “They will be fitted with the Mark III Flex membrane containment system,” said GTT. “The delivery of the vessels is scheduled between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027,” added the Paris-based company.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French LNG storage technology company, has signed technical services agreements with Eastern Pacific Shipping and its LNG affiliate Cool Company Ltd for a global fleet of 33 vessels, including 24 LNG carriers.

Under the agreement GTT will support Eastern Pacific and CoolCo with the maintenance and operation of their LNG fleet and six Very Large Ethane Carriers and three LNG-fuelled container ships operated by EPS, all equipped with Mark III or No. 96 membrane containment systems technologies developed by GTT.

GTT said it would provide on-site technical assistance for inspection, maintenance, repairs, operations and engineering services.

Eastern Pacific and CoolCo will also benefit from access to the HEARS® emergency hotline, which enables ship-owners and their crews to contact GTT’s experts at any time to respond to operational issues.

“We welcome the signature of this agreement with our key partners EPS and CoolCo, who operate a large and diverse fleet of vessels equipped with GTT technologies,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

Support services

“Our tailor-made support services allow us to guarantee maximum efficiency and safety for the vessels in operation,” added Berterottière.

Richard Tyrrell, CEO of CoolCo, explained that GTT was an important partner of the company.

“We look forward to continuing to work with GTT and to extending our levels of collaboration,” Tyrrell added.

Cyril Ducau, CEO of Eastern Pacific, said his company was pleased to expand its partnership with GTT.

“GTT’s technology will play a key role as EPS rejuvenates its fleet with eco-friendly tonnage,” Ducau stated.

GTT has also been making progress in the design of the next generation of LNG carriers with fewer storage tanks.

The Paris-based company and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries recently received an approval from UK classification society Lloyd’s Register for a new design of GTT’s three-tank concept.

Carrier re-designs

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.

Analysts noted 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.

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.

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

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 received its first order from a new partner, the Chinese shipyard China Merchants Heavy Industry in Jiangsu province, for the tank designs for four LNG carriers.

GTT will design the tanks of these four vessels, which will each offer a total cargo capacity of 180,000 cubic metres and would be fitted with the Mark III Flex membrane containment system.

The delivery of the vessels to an as yet unnamed European owner is scheduled between the first quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.

“We are glad to receive this first order from China Merchants Heavy Industry-Jiangsu for the design of the tanks of four new LNG carriers,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

“With this fifth shipyard, China confirms its growing role in the construction of LNG carriers and opens up new opportunities in a context of strong demand,” stated Berterottière.

China newbuilds

Simple Hu, General Manager of China Merchants Industry Holdings, said the order for large-scale LNG carriers was the first for the Haimen shipyard in Jiangsu

“We are excited to turn our vision into reality, offering state-of-the-art vessels to the growing LNGC market,” he added.

“We highly appreciate the support provided by the GTT Group, whose experience was instrumental in the preparation and development of our solution,” he said.

GTT continues to expand its relationships with Chinese companies and shipyards with technology accords for maritime and onshore LNG tanks storage tanks.

PipeChina Engineering Technology Innovation Co. signed a cooperation agreement on April 6, 2023, for the evaluation and further promotion of GTT’s membrane containment technology for onshore LNG projects in China.

PipeChina Group is currently operating seven LNG receiving terminals in China and three new LNG import projects are under construction.

As the largest operator of LNG infrastructure in China, PipeChina said it was keen to expand its cooperation with GTT.

May 18 (LNGJ) - Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of maritime liquefied natural gas storage and fuel tanks, said it was chosen by its partner, the South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries, to design the cryogenic fuel tanks of six LNG-powered containerships.

   “These six vessels will have a capacity of 7,900 containers each and will be equipped with LNG tanks, holding up to 6,000 cubic metres of LNG used as fuel. The tanks will be fitted with the Mark III Flex membrane containment technology, developed by GTT,” said the Paris-based company.

French liquefied natural gas storage technology firm Gaztranzport and Technigaz (GTT) is expanding business in China and has received an order from its Chinese shipyard partner Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the tank design of a new LNG carrier.

The order was made on behalf of the leasing unit of China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) for a vessel with capacity of 174,000 cubic metres capacity.

“As part of this order, GTT will design the tanks of the vessel, which will be fitted with the GTT No. 96 L03-plus membrane containment system,” said GTT.

The newbuild carrier is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2024.

GTT received a previous order in September 2021 for a first storage system design for an LNG carrier from China's Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai.

The order was for the cargo-handling storage system for an LNG carrier being built for Chinese energy company, the Jovo Group.

The Jovo vessel is a mid-sized LNG carrier to be added to the company's fleet.

GTT said it would design the tanks with a cargo capacity 79,800 cubic metres.

That mid-sized order is for a customized “China Max” carrier and is a key part of Jovo’s sourcing strategy that paves the way for future shipping developments.

The carrier would be fitted with the GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane containment system and would be the first built in China with the Mark III technology series.

The vessel is scheduled to be delivered to the Jovo Group in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Dec 22 (LNGJ) - Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT) said it received orders from the South Korean shipyards of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) for the tank design of four LNG carriers on behalf of European and Asian shipowner. Each vessel will offer a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres.

   GTT will design the Mark III Flex membrane containment system for the carriers, with deliveries of the vessels scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of 2024. GTT said this brought to 41 the total number of LNG carrier tank orders the Paris-based company has received this year.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French technology firm and designer of liquefied natural gas storage tanks, has acquired another French firm specializing in the assembly of electrolysers for the production of green hydrogen, a future fuel to rival LNG.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French technology firm and designer of liquefied natural gas storage tanks, said it received two orders for the tank designs for four Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs), which will benefit from the “LNG cargo ready” notation.