GTT and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd (DSIC) have received approval in principle (AiP) from Lloyd’s Register (LR) for their 30,000 m³ B-Freef LNG carrier design.
The AiP was presented during a ceremony at Marintec China on 5 December.
Ballast-free Shipping Solution Offers More Benefits
The spread of invasive species is recognised as one of the greatest threats to the ecological and economic well-being of the planet and this new design could provide a ballast-free shipping solution.
The innovative design has several advantages over conventional designs (based on Type C cargo tanks and using ballast), combining environmentally-friendly features with increased efficiency as well as predicted lower build and operating costs.
Savings in build cost are expected through the avoidance of fitting a ballast water treatment system (BWTS) and not having to comply with the Performance Standard for Protective Coatings (PSPC) for ballast tanks, ballast piping, pumps and values. Operational savings should be seen from not having to, for example, run and maintain a BWTS, ballast systems and maintain ballast tank coatings. Initial predictions also show lower fuel consumption compared to "standard" designs as well as lower LNG boil-off due to the GTT membrane, compared to a Type C tank.
Ongoing Change
Ma Yingbin, Vice Chief Engineer, DSIC, commented: 'While we are still in the initial stage of the project and the design is subject to ongoing change, the initial results are indicating that we will meet our goal of having a ballast-free ship that is equal to, or better than existing conventional designs. The cumulative improvements in operating costs coming from the combination of the various innovations and new ideas applied to the design are better than we anticipated, although we should be mindful that this is only the preliminary results phase and we need phase two to further refine and validate the design, we are hopeful this will result in more efficient small-scale LNG carriers.'
Picture by CSIRO.
